


Bridgewater

by lawow74



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Forgotten Realms, Planescape, World of Greyhawk
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-14 02:37:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 140,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5726602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawow74/pseuds/lawow74
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thrown into a world beyond her experience, a young woman struggles to survive the strange and fantastic things there in hopes of finding a way back. How will she do it? Well, being a Troll helps... Bridgewater is a solo RP log/story in my own vision of the D&D universe, adapted from sources along its product timeline.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blood & Shadow

* _gloing - gloing - gloing_ *

The sound of the bouncing ball echoed upon the evening streets as Valerie made her way home from the park. Fall was approaching, and a cool breeze tugged at the fabric of her hoodie while the six-foot-plus young woman strolled along the sidewalk. Strands of long blonde hair lifted as the wind rose and ebbed. The streetlights cast their pools on the dimming pavement and the sounds of the city mixed with the skittering of a few early leaves across the pavement.

* _gloing - gloing - gloing_ *

Handling the ball had always come easily enough to Valerie, from the time her father first introduced her to the game as a child. While other sports had their charms, basketball was her favorite, and she'd dreamed of playing it professionally since elementary school.

The growth spurt in her early teens only emboldened that, and it made the taunts and ugly rumors of high school more bearable in the face of her goal. No matter what anyone said, their school was all-state in girls' basketball at least in part because of her. Her boyfriend Tommy didn't have a problem with her size, nor her circle of friends. But Tommy had gone off to college last fall, along with most of her friends.

* _gloing - gloing - gloing_ *

As good as she was on the court, no school was offering her a full athletic ride. Her parents were both pretty successful, father the owner of a family sporting goods store and mother a realtor, but that changed when a drunk driver put her mother in the hospital last summer.

Left with damage to her spine and a loss of mobility, the hit to their finances was too much to support her dreams of college. After the surgeries and the hospital stay came the adjustments to their home, and her mother being unable to work brought on yet more belt-tightening.

* _gloing - gloing - gloing_ *

While everyone else went away to new places, new people, new lives, Valerie took care of the house and watched after her mother. That loss of independence wasn't easy on her, and it made her mother bitter and unpleasant to deal with those first few months. Physical therapy was a further drain on their finances, but it did start producing results.

By the New Year, her mother was able to get around with a walker, and one year after the accident she was mostly recovered, only needing the occasional use of a cane. She was back to showing houses, but time away from work had put a pinch on them they were just now starting to loosen.

* _gloing - gloing - gloing_ *

She'd looked into student loans and financial aid, but even then she'd have needed a part-time job or more. Not much time left to dedicate to athletics. Much as she liked to think she could be a pro, not being able to get a scholarship had shaken her confidence. She still played in pick-up games as often as she could, still dreamed of playing for a living, but she wondered if she should just do what her parents suggested. Go to community college, study business, or study for a realtor's license.

* _gloing - gloing - gloing_ *

A car went by, headlights spearing into the growing gloom as she paused at the crosswalk, ball tucked under her arm and blue eyes checking the street in its passing. She started across, thoughts drifting to the evening ahead. Hot shower, late dinner, catching up with her parents, some TV and bedtime. On the other side, she passed under a streetlight as a gust of wind kicked up, making her squint and turn her head.

From above, she heard a brief electric hum as the light flickered, brightened, then went dark. She peered up at it. _Huh,_ she thought. _Never saw that happen._ She resumed walking, entering an alleyway that cut across to the residential street she lived on.

* _gloing - gloing - gloing_ *

The bouncing ball echoed off the buildings as she strolled along, avoiding a puddle left from rain a couple days back. Funny. Maybe it was the light being out, but the alley seemed darker than this time of day should've been. Still, the light on the other side was visible, and she hastened her pace to meet it. Not because she was scared or anything. Just time to stop being lazy and get on home.

* _gloing - gloing - gl----_ *

The world suddenly went completely silent. No wind, no cars, no bouncing ball. It startled her into stillness, and she hooked the ball under her arm as she looked around. She tried to say 'What the Hell?' but no sound came out of her mouth. She felt the movements, but heard nothing. Fear prickled at her scalp and down her spine, and she raised her right hand to dig at her ear, see if something was somehow blocking it, starting off at a faster pace to leave the alley. Ahead, the streetlight flickered several times, brightened, and went dead, just like the one behind.

 _Okay, that's way too freaky,_ she thought to herself. This was starting to feel like something out of a horror movie, and fun as they might be to watch, she didn't fancy being in one. As a fast walk turned into a jog and a run, the mouth of the alley ahead didn't really seem to be getting closer. If anything, it seemed to be dragging away from her. A stillness in the air, not just of sound but motion, accompanied a growing feeling of...resistance. As if the air itself was somehow weighing her down. She felt her fear growing, but try as it might, it wasn't helping her get any further away.

The light at the other side dimmed visibly, like watching a time-lapse of a day/night cycle. Around her, shadows bloomed, and even more strangely, the world seemed to be taking on a negative-color quality, lights and darks reversing. Any sense of forward motion was gone.

She strained against a force that was now trying to draw her back. Full-on panic gripped her, and her heart beat furiously in her chest. As the gloom seemed to rise, wiping away even the distorted colors in her vision, darkness of a totality she'd seldom seen was enveloping her.

The feeling of the asphalt under her feet began to lessen as she was drawn upward by that inexorable force. She gave forth a silent cry and kicked her legs desperately, waved her arms, trying to hold onto something. Just a few last tip-toe scrapes were all she managed, before a sudden rush of motion stole her from the last dim image of her hometown and plunged her into complete blackness. For one brief moment, she felt a weightless hover. Then she was falling, falling, falling...

Once years ago on vacation, she'd taken a dare to dive into a lake from a small cliff side, blindfolded. It was frightening and thrilling, but she had no desire to repeat it after. This was absolutely horrifying. Her mind strained to find any sensation beyond the pulling of gravity as she tumbled into that unfathomable darkness.

As she fell, a coldness began to seep into her. A numbing, weakening feeling, as if her life was being sapped from her body. With a strangely calm clarity she thought, _This is it. I'm dying._ A number of feelings jockeyed for position in her mind. Fear, sadness, anger whirled in circles, each taking their turn in the spotlight.

But before any one of them could cement control, a new feeling struck her with a shock: pain. A deep, burning, sizzling-electric pain all through her. It seized her muscles like a full-body cramp, stole her breath, paralyzed her as she was aware of a feeling like being stretched and bent by unseen hands. Then that faded into the background as a series of images flashed in her mind. Not any experience she'd ever had, but they seemed as real to her as if she had been there.

Images of savagery, grabbing and tearing at flesh with large, clawed hands, seeing what must be blood squirting from the gouges. More violent sights, wounds torn open to expose bone, organs, gore covering her hands, then the view zooming in, and a taste of hot, bloody meat on her tongue. Dark shapes and monstrous shadows around, more clawed hands, and dimly, screams accompanied by what could only be many chewing mouths. It was too much for her, and she fell into oblivion with gratitude.

She sat upright, gasping, looking around, confused. What happened? Did she have some kind of accident? A stroke or some other kind of attack? She half-expected to see the alley she was in, half expected a hospital room. What she got, instead, appeared to be...a swamp?

The air was mild and humid, rich with the smells of plants and living things. In her line of sight she saw a full moon reflected upon still water, under a starry sky of the kind you didn't see in the city. The chirping of insects was in the air, and other noises. In her hands she felt damp grass, and saw what looked like cattails near the shore. _What the Hell?_ she thought.

Looking around, she could make out the shapes of trees not far away, but beyond that, all she saw was wilderness. No other lights, no sign of habitation. With a bend and push she got her feet under her and stood, and it took her a moment to realize she felt...off. Her center of balance felt pitched forward, her arms felt like they were too long, her legs felt bowed and her back felt hunched.

Plus something was on her face, covering her nose. It reminded her of some kind of Halloween witch's nose, crooked and comically elongated. She raised her hand to brush at it and stopped. _That's not my hand!_ was her immediate thought. While it was still human in shape, four fingers with a thumb, it seemed far too large to be her hand.

There was no way her skin was that dark, nor did she have long claws instead of fingernails. Yet when she willed them to move, they obliged. A cold dread settled into her stomach like a lump as she reached and felt at the thing on her face. _Please don't let this be real. Please, please, please..._

The rough texture of the digit and the rubbery tugging told her, much as she had hoped otherwise, this was in fact her nose. "This can't be real..." she said out loud, and her usually pleasant soprano had turned into a gravelly growl. She clutched at her neck, "My voice!" she said, and again was shocked. Even with her worst frog-throated cough, she'd never sounded that bad!

That dread twisted in her guts as she looked down at herself. Not only did that same dark skin cover her, her shape itself was greatly changed. For one, she saw her chest was a flat, masculine plane, clearly visible due to the fact she had no clothes on! She touched at her breast, located a pair of tiny nipples, but that was all.

Her legs bulged with a bodybuilder's lines, and when she looked, her arms were similarly defined. Her feet were not human; each sported three big toes tipped with claws much like those on her hands, and it seemed her posture balanced her upon the front and kept her heel more elevated. She forced them back down to the ground, and felt even more awkward, like she was leaning back and having to work to keep her balance.

 _This can't be real. It can't._ But how could she rationalize what she was seeing, feeling? She didn't think her imagination was this good! _I must be in a coma. I have to be._ The thought this had actually happened to her was too much to bear in the moment. As she looked around, feeling her long hair shifting against her bare back, a new sensation made itself known: hunger.

It quickly rose inside her to levels beyond anything in recent memory. She clutched at her stomach and grimaced, felt the way her teeth fit together in alien ways. These were sharp teeth, for piercing and tearing, not just grinding. The thought of applying them to some meat took hold, and she found it hard to shake.

 _Well, I won't get anywhere standing around,_ she thought. If this was a dream, it was awfully damn real. _It's not real. Any moment now, I'm gonna wake up, and Mom and Dad will be there, and maybe Christie, and everyone will be glad to see me and things will be normal again._ As she started to walk, feeling the oddly light step to her gait and the way her shoulders swayed with a vaguely simian quality, she told herself these things.

Deciding she'd just follow the shore, her new three-toed feet squelched in the soggy ground as she looked around. Her sense of smell was amazing, she was picking up all kinds of subtleties she scarcely recalled noticing. Of course, much of it was the smell of the marshy water and land, but other things mixed in the gently stirring breeze. While she felt self-conscious at first, striding along naked came easier as she saw or heard no sign of anyone else, besides some insects and birds.

With a hesitant curiosity, she paused to feel between her legs at her groin. She didn't touch on any familiar anatomy, just a smooth expanse of flesh. She thought maybe there was a fold of skin there, but she didn't feel an urgent desire to explore it. Instead she pushed her experience aside and focused on staying in motion. She briefly considered trying to get a look at herself in the water, but that seemed too much too soon.

 _Dammit, where's a McDonald's when you need one?_ she thought with a kind of desperate humor, and a low grunting in her throat must've been what passed for a chuckle now. "I sound like a constipated moose." she said out loud, and laughed more fully, a rough, harsh noise. What else could she do? Break down and cry was an option, but she didn't want to give in to that impulse.

She lazily swung her hand at a nearby stand of reeds, and was surprised by how easily her claws cut through the stalks. _Maybe there was more to that crazy dream than I thought,_ she mused, just before a sudden splash was heard and a low, dark shape lunged forward at her from the water!

A set of toothed jaws slammed shut on her leg, and a shooting pain sent a shock through her as she gave forth a bellow of pain and fear. She recognized the long, tailed creature as it took hold with that fearsome maw: a crocodile! With a savage yank, the reptilian predator took her off her feet and prepared to drag her into the water.

A surge of energy filled Valerie, the fear and shock pushed aside as a feeling of anger exploded in her. How dare this thing attack her?? She wrenched to the side, seeking to escape its jaws, and managed to get purchase under her, rising up to an awkward crablike position.

The crocodile gave forth a growling hiss and thrashed at her again, trying to drag her into the water. In her awkward posture, she couldn't manage to keep it from doing so and found herself in up to her neck, just barely keeping her head above the surface. She twisted once more in an escape attempt, and lashed out, trying to drive it off. Her hand dug at the armored skin, and she felt a surge of grim satisfaction as it tore under her claws, drawing blood.

The water flew around them as the crocodile continued trying to drag her out into the deeper water. Valerie managed to find enough footing to keep it from making any progress, twisting her hips, making the creature roll. With a savage instinct, she thrust her clawed hand in at the creature's exposed throat and latched on, tearing violently. The scent of blood filled the air as the crocodile began bleeding from the fatal wound.

Snarling in triumph, Valerie reached down and yanked the crocodile's mouth open, drawing her wounded leg back. Funnily enough, instead of screaming at her in pain, it felt fiercely itchy more than anything. She pushed herself up to her feet, wincing at a burning stab in her calf, and turned to hobble gingerly back to shore. She looked down at where she'd been bitten, and stared at the impossible: her leg was healing right before her eyes!

Within a minute's time, the pain had completely subsided and the wounds from the bite were gone. Not a mark or a scar or anything remained. Her body trembling with a wave of fatigue following the surging adrenaline, she slumped onto the grassy shore, staring up at the moon. _I'm in a swamp. I just killed a fucking crocodile with my bare hands. And I'm half-tempted to drag it back to shore and eat it like it tried to eat me!_

As she sat there, catching her breath, she tried to figure out how she managed that. The only thing she could think of was her uncle Jason talking about his experience in the Gulf War. How when the world is blowing up around you and people are screaming and dying, you just fall back on instinct. All the training and drill you've been through puts you on a kind of auto-pilot, and you just focus on that and hope you survive. She felt like something similar had happened to her, but where had it come from?

 _Just one more unanswered question in this crazy coma-dream,_ she supposed, even if she was starting to suspect this wasn't a dream. There was no way she could make up something like this. Dragging herself back to her feet, she looked out to the water where the dead animal lay. Resisting that urge to go fetch it and eat, she started on her way again, this time moving up further from the shore. In case the crocodile had any cousins around also looking for a late-night snack of...whatever the Hell she was now.

Time passed as she strode along, with an easy energy beyond even what she was used to. At least whatever she was, it was in good shape. Great shape, enough to kill a crocodile by itself. She could still scarcely believe what she'd done. _When the sun comes up, I need to get a better look at myself._ She had a bad feeling whatever she was wouldn't be pretty, if what she saw of her nose was any indication.

Pausing to look up at the sky, she thought, _Why hasn't the moon moved? Hasn't it been several hours by now?_ With no watch, she had no real sense of time. _For that matter, where's the North Star? The Big Dipper?_ None of them looked familiar, either. Even the moon didn't look quite right.

 _I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but...if I'm not home, where the Hell am I?_ She thought then of childhood stories: Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and The Chronicles of Narnia. She'd loved that Narnia movie as a kid, but that was all just make-believe. Wasn't it? But what happened in the alley, that was like a rabbit-hole, or a twister, or a magical wardrobe. _None of them turned into some big monster, though._ It was still too much to dwell on. She forced herself back into motion.

Before long, she heard a new sound: running water. She quickened her pace, and soon found the source. A river, emptying into the marsh. She moved upstream a short distance, under the cover of some trees, and bent down to drink. The water was clear and cool, and she gulped several mouthfuls, glad for the temporary relief it gave to the gnawing in her stomach.

One thing was for sure. If she wasn't dreaming, she was going to need food and water. And what she remembered from Girl Scouts told her you could survive for a while without food, but without water, you were very soon dead. _Plus other things need water. Things I could maybe kill for food._

She wasn't sure if she could snatch onto something with her claws and kill it easily. Even if she tore a crocodile's throat open, that didn't mean a deer was going to just stand there and let her. _Guess I'll have to try my luck with a rock._ Rising up, she set out again, this time following the river's course back upstream.

Unless her perception was completely skewed somehow, she could swear the moon hadn't moved an inch since she'd started following the river. Pausing by a bend, she sat down and leaned against a tree. Tired and hungry, she thought _I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes._

Before she realized it, she was fast asleep. Incoherent jumbles of sense memory bubbled in her mind as she rested, until a sensation snapped her awake. A series of sharp jabbing pains, on her arms, her chest, and little pinching feelings nearby.

She sat forward, and saw bizarre four-winged creatures, like giant mosquitoes, attached to her! Suddenly a terrible wooziness overtook her as she felt weak, and she could see the bodies of the hideous creatures swelling. They were draining the blood right out of her. She felt far worse than she did the time she'd gone to a blood drive. She clawed at one of the foul creatures, but didn't manage to find purchase in her waves of dizziness.

One of the creatures, apparently sated, let go and began to fly away. The others continued to drink, leaving her feeling on the verge of passing out. She fought to keep her consciousness and swatted at another with the same feeble awkwardness. Now all of the creatures were full, and detached. As the last one started to fly off, she swung her arm at it and tore it from the air, leaving it twitching on the ground. With a growl, she stomped it and felt it squish satisfyingly underfoot.

 _That's it! I'm nobody's dinner! Not crocodiles, not mutant mosquito-things, nothing!_ Smelling the air, she caught the scent of the vile things and set out after them, determined to kill them. It didn't take long, even as trembly and weak as she felt, to find where they'd gone: a nest in a tree nearby, hollowed by rot. When she drew near, the creatures took to the air and flew away.

She gave chase, and caught up to them, swinging wildly at them, even as they scattered anew. Relentless in her pursuit, she found them again and managed to swat one down, and another as they tried to flee once more. This time the final one took refuge higher in a nearby tree. She managed to climb up the trunk with her claws to aid her, but it flew away before she could reach it. As she tried to descend, she lost her footing and fell, slamming into the ground.

Growling with frustration, she regained her footing and felt the bruises sustained already healing. She caught the creature's scent again and trailed it to another tree. She foraged around on the ground until she found a decent-sized rock, took aim and threw it. It missed, and she cast about for another.

It too missed, as did the third. Snarling with anger, she took up a fourth, and finally caught the little beast, sending it to the ground with a soft thump. She located it and once again stomped it with a sense of satisfaction. "Eat that, you...bat-squito!" she spat out, and then slumped down nearby with a sigh. She still felt terribly weak, and hadn't slept as much as she'd wanted. Try as she might, it wasn't long before she fell into slumber again.

This time, at least, she woke up just feeling a little stiff from leaning up against the tree. It was still dark as it was when she first awoke here. _When's the sun come up, next week?_ she wondered as she drug herself to her feet, and had to lean against the tree to fight off her dizziness.

 _Those bat-squito things took a lot out of me,_ she thought. _I need to eat. Now._ She set out back to the riverside, and started moving along its course again, looking around for something, anything she might catch for food. Following the water, stopping now and again to rest and drink, she eventually caught an animal's scent on the breeze.

Ahead, she could see there by the riverside a deer of some kind. It had no antlers, so she guessed it was a doe, but at just that moment she didn't really care. All she could think about was fresh meat. Stooping down, she located another rock and took careful aim. It raised its head, perked its ears, watchful. Unfortunately, it failed to notice Valerie, and had no chance to react as her projectile flew through the air and hit it square in the side of the head. It tottered and fell on its side, motionless.

"YES!" cried Valerie triumphantly, and she closed the gap with her somewhat loping gait to kneel beside it. For just a moment, she felt a stab of guilt, when she saw the deer laying there, motionless, a trickle of blood from its wound marring the fur near its eye. But the smell of it, the churning clench of hunger in her gut quickly pushed that feeling aside. Looking towards the rump, she grabbed hold of its hind leg and pulled, digging her claws into its flesh.

It tore easily enough, and the thickening smell in the air just made her slaver. She raised her bloody hand and lapped at the dark life-essence, tasting the warm, salty substance. She couldn't take it anymore. Acting almost entirely on instinct, she thrust her head down, opened her mouth wider than she thought even possible, and bit deep into the furry hide.

The taste of it was, to her tongue, beyond even the finest cut of prime rib she'd ever dined on. She barely even noticed the velvety hide as she tore chunk after chunk of meat out, half-chewed it, and swallowed. Minutes seemed to fly by as she devoured much of the deer's hindquarter and tore into its buttock, the rich, fatty stores there melting in her mouth. She ate until her stomach felt swollen, only then ending her frenzy to lay upon her back and gaze up at the starry sky through the forest canopy.

She lay there in a stupor, feeling happy despite her still-weakened state. _At least I won't starve now,_ she thought. But her reverie was cut short when she noticed the scent of some new creature. Turning her head, she spied a large, catlike animal lurking there nearby. It had powerful shoulders, a light-colored hide with spots, and a crestlike mane running back from its long snouted head.

Piercing light eyes glared at her as it stepped closer, its tail lashing the air a time or two. Before Valerie could react, it let forth with a piercing shriek and the skin on its feline face pulled back, revealing a skull bordered by connective tissue! A terror gripped her at the sight and sound, and with a cry of alarm, she bolted to her feet and took off, fleering the horrible creature!

Across the river and into the opposite woods she ran, not daring to look back for half a minute before the blinding fear subsided. When she did, she saw no sign of the creature. Cautiously moving back in the direction of the river, she spotted it there by the corpse of her kill, helping itself to some of the carcass. It looked perfectly normal again. How such a creature ever evolved a trait like that, she couldn't guess, but embarrassment at being driven off like that turned to anger.

 _Two can play that game!_ she thought as she left the cover of the trees, stared across the river, and then ran straight at the creature, lifting her arms over her head, waving them, and bellowing at it as loud as she could. The creature looked up with a start, crouching defensively and backing away from the deer. "GET OUT OF HERE! GO!" she roared at it, swiping her hands at it mock-threateningly. It decided not to fight, and turned to flee into the woods. As it vanished into the undergrowth, Valerie sat back down, feeling satisfied with her victory.

After resting for several minutes, Valerie turned her attention back to the deer carcass. She wasn't hungry now, but she was sure to be later. Not really feeling like trying to haul the whole thing, she instead decided to tear off what was left of the other hindquarter. The skull-head-cat-thing had chewed on it a little, but she figured at worst she could wash it off in the river, and it would be fine.

Rolling it over, she set to digging at the tissue with her claws, tearing at the meat, seeking the joint where she might pull it loose and carry the leg with her instead. As she worked, she heard a rustling in the nearby bushes. She sniffed the air, and could smell the cat-creature again. No, wait. Two cat-creatures.

Just as one was approaching from her front, she heard another trying to sneak around behind her. She remained still, pretending to be oblivious, until she saw it out of the corner of her eye. Rising suddenly, she rushed toward it and swatted with her hand. Lines of blood appeared on its pelt as she wounded it, but it wasn't daunted yet.

The skin of its face peeled back and it let forth that horrible wail once again. This time, though it still chilled her to the bone, she held her ground. While distracted by it, the other came up from behind and tried to sink its fangs into her, to no avail.

Valerie turned towards the one she'd already wounded and lashed out again, her aim thrown off by the lingering fear with her first strike, but the creature was too slow to dodge her second and she swatted it to the ground. It let out a groan and slumped, unconscious.

Turning towards the other one, she was struck by a flash of instinct as she bent down and tried to sink her teeth into it. It ducked aside, and gave forth the same chilling cry and display as its partner. This time, terror overtook her and she fled anew. In the wake, the creature grabbed up the leg she'd severed and dashed off into the brush.

By the time she recovered and returned, the creature was long gone. Tired of fighting, and seeing they were just trying to drive her off for an easy meal, Valerie relented. _It's not worth it, I'll catch something else later._ She left the remains of the deer and the strange cat-monster behind and resumed her trek upriver. _Bat-squitoes, cat-things that can peel back their faces ...what next?_ She thought of the crazy things from the fantasy stories and films of her youth, and began to wonder if maybe they might be lurking around here, too.

As she began to tire again, she stopped by an eddy in the river, gazing down at the moon reflected in the water. _May as well look and see..._ she told herself, but it still took her a couple of minutes before she managed to stick her head out over the water, eyes shut, then open them.

A scraggly mop of long hair, to her eye black as night, surrounded the elongated features of a more or less human-shaped face. She had a sizable pointed chin, and a nose worthy of any Halloween witch. Warts and other bumps marred her features, sharp and hard and dour-looking, with eyes a solid yellow color. Even though she'd suspected she was ugly, actually seeing it still made her heart feel like a sinking stone in her chest. She took a deep breath, and let out a raspy groaning sigh. "Not like I had a hot date lined up anyways..." she grumbled to herself.

She thought back to high school, when the popular and pretty girls would snigger behind her back about how tall she was, spread ugly homophobic rumors about her. A sudden flash of anger made her slash her hand into the water, distorting the reflection into meaningless wavers. _No time for this bullshit. I need to rest._ she told herself. Returning up the bank, she found a likely spot upon some moss and curled up to drift off to sleep once more.


	2. A Savage World

A dark, smoky cave filled with shadows. All around, hulking figures, the sounds of many hungry mouths at work. Screams echoed in the distance. She was busily stuffing her face with fresh, bloody meat. She couldn't see well enough to know what it was, only that it was rich and plentiful.

A shadow fell over her, and she looked up. A towering figure, long-armed with huge clawed hands, loomed there. A face even more hideous than the one she saw in the water leered at her with burning red eyes and a grin that would've made a shark envious.

YES...EAT! it said in a deep, gravelly voice she somehow heard as much in her thoughts as in her ears. FEAST ON THE WEAK! GROW STRONG! As it said this, she felt a tensing, pulling sensation across her body, like the cramping pain she experienced before in the dark void. It wasn't quite as severe, but it did spur her hunger further, and she started feasting all the more. She felt energy surging inside her, a catharsis alongside the swelling, stretching sensation.

Suddenly she sat upright, to feel the pleasantly cool night air and the spongy moss under her body. A low tensing ache spread through her body, like she'd just finished a strenuous series of exercises. She still felt weak, but it wasn't quite as bad as it was when she first laid down. _A dream?_ she wondered. It seemed real, but her point of reference for that had become pretty skewed lately. She thought about the words of that monstrous thing as she sat up, stretched, yawned.

The nighttime was still in full effect, and near as she could tell had not changed at all. A growling pang within her said no matter how much dream-meat she'd eaten, she was still hungry here. Why she dreamt about that place she couldn't figure out, but it made about as much sense as a lot of other stuff she'd been through. _It has to be real, I can't find any other explanation._ If so, what was happening back home? Had she been reported missing? Pangs of guilt and sadness joined her hunger as she rose and headed to the river to drink.

 _Poor Mom and Dad, they'll go crazy not knowing what happened to me._ She thought of news stories about girls who'd been abducted, spent years or decades prisoner with some sicko, or murdered and not found until much later...if ever found at all. _Maybe there's something I can do to get home somehow. If I got here, there's got to be a way back...right?_ She had no idea if that was true, but it was something to pursue. _First, I gotta find civilization. And to do that, I have to survive._

With that she set out upstream once more, smelling around. _At least this great honking nose of mine is good for something besides being fugly as Hell._ It wasn't long before she found a low, rotund shape near the water's edge, with a bristly hide and snouted head. A wild pig of some kind.

One good toss of a rock later, it was a dead wild pig. She drug its carcass back up from the river a way, and settled down to eat. Even if on some level she didn't like the thought of eating raw meat, the taste of it was actually quite enjoyable, and hunger made for a great seasoning.

 _I still feel pretty weak. Maybe I should take some time to rest before I push on too much further._ With that, she settled in and rested for a time, listening to the animal sounds, trying to identify the sources of various smells, passing the time doodling in the dirt with her claw. _Strange. I haven't felt like using the bathroom yet._

From her earlier self-examination, she surmised she had at least some of the same plumbing as she did before. Maybe she didn't need to go because she was digesting everything? She hoped she wasn't sick in some other way, besides the draining effect those bat-squito things had caused.

Time passed, and she did little besides feast on portions of her kill, supplement it with water, and sleep. No other strange cave-dreams, just awkward jumbles of things, mixing her past with recent experience. Dreaming of being dressed like her hideous self for Halloween, and discovering later it wasn't a costume. Or playing professional basketball and suddenly becoming like she was now, to the horror of everyone around her. They weren't pleasant, but she needed the rest.

She tried not to think about home, but she couldn't help worrying about how everyone was doing. Her family, her friends, even just casual acquaintances around the neighborhood. After a few days, the pig had been nearly picked clean of edible meat. Like it or not, it was time to hunt again.

One thing she'd discovered in that time: her teeth and claws seemed much sharper than before, likewise her skin seemed tougher. It had an almost slick quality to it, even despite her wading and bathing in the river. And while her claw could pierce it easily, trying to push on it met with a tough, rubbery consistency.

 _One more thing on the Weird List,_ she thought as she finally roused from her temporary camp and set out following the river once more, in search of food and signs of anything other than animal life. She didn't find the latter, but the former made itself known in the form of what seemed to be a young buck. Again, she had food to last for a few days, and so made camp to rest and recuperate.

Passing some of her time idly whittling at pieces of deadfall wood, she discovered her claws went through it like it was paper. She certainly had no trouble biting through hard substances, either. Bone broke as easily as dry bread, and after a few incidents of accidentally chewing and swallowing some showed no ill effect, she added that into her diet. It seemed to at least add a little more texture to her meal, and she found a certain grim amusement in it.

 _Maybe I'm a giant,_ she thought as she gnawed upon the deer's leg, flesh and bone all. _I'm not making bread, but I'm sure as Hell grinding some bones with these chops of mine._ "Fee-fi-fo-fum, bitches." she said, and laughed at her lame little joke.

By the time she'd finished off the deer, she was feeling pretty good. Better than she had before, in fact. "Maybe there's more truth to that 'eat and grow strong' crap than I thought." she said. She'd started talking to herself more. Even if her voice was ugly, it was better than hearing no voice at all. She'd never been isolated from other people like this for so long, and it was wearing on her. Staying in one place wasn't gonna cut it anymore. She had to get up and get moving.

By now, even with travelling, she was still feeling stronger every day. The scenery remained much the same, the river's course rising and falling as she started to travel into hillier terrain. No great obstacles presented themselves, though she did spend much of one afternoon circling around to get past a waterfall. Food continued to be no problem to find. Wildlife was abundant, and she had pretty good luck with a rock as long as she had the chance to take aim.

"And Aunt Marie said shooting baskets had no practical applications..." she commented as she stripped the feathers from her latest kill, what she thought was a pheasant or similar wild bird. She'd become less squeamish about devouring smaller game. Nothing really seemed to taste bad to her, just different sorts of enjoyable. She wasn't about to try rotting meat anytime soon, but short of that, any kind of fresh meat seemed to be on the menu.

The fact she could grind anything she put into her mouth down as easily as a breadstick helped. Part of her worried that this casual approach to devouring things more or less whole was unhealthy, but she'd decided that was a problem to worry about after she got back home and everything was normal again. She'd even tried the organs, entrails and other parts of smaller animals, and found none of it unpleasant.

As she set out once more on what was nearly two weeks' time in this crazy place of eternal night, a chance passage through a stand of trees brought a curious sensation. It reminded her of diving into water, the change in the way liquid flowed around you instead of air, only it was a dry feeling, like something just rubbing all over her. It persisted for only a second, and there was an instant of total blackness, but then...light!

Sunlight hit her in the face like a hard slap, and she gasped, throwing her hand up to shade her face. It took her eyes a couple of seconds to adjust, but...there it was! Granted, it seemed more like the sun was rising, but it was there! She looked around...and stopped. This was no forest.

This was a dry-looking plain, though not devoid of life. She saw clumps of long, slender grasses, hardy brush, and...cactus? In an instant, she'd gone from the forest at midnight to the desert at sunrise? Or sunset? She couldn't tell. What she could tell was the color of her skin. It wasn't a dark grey. It was green.

A rich emerald green, and her hair wasn't truly black, either. It was a very dark green instead. "Great. I'm not just a giant, I'm the green giant." She resisted the urge to go 'ho-ho-ho' as she now considered a new difficulty. She no longer had a ready and plentiful source of water. So where to find it in the desert? Crouching down to dig her hand in the dry soil, she tried to think. Something about dew? She hadn't seen it rain at all, and there didn't seem to be a weather cycle to make it.

"It's gotta come from somewhere." she reasoned, and looked at a towering prickly cactus. "Maybe there." She rose and approached it. A few scrapes with her claws cleared away some needles, and a quick poke and twirl cut away a chunk of the plant's flesh. Its moist aroma came to her nose, and she looked at the juicy inner meat of it. She popped it in her mouth, chewed...and was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of it. Swallowing, she said "Guess that solves that."

Looking around, she decided if she was going to wander around here, she might as well follow the sun. Pointing herself in that direction, she set out once more. New smells and sounds greeted her as she journeyed, and she did her best to catalog the sources as she went.

It was warmer here than in the forest, but not unpleasantly so. The long shadows cast by the colorful painted horizon made an interesting contrast to the weeks of moonlight she'd endured, and the change in scenery was more than welcome.

Even though it was a desert, it was far from barren. The plant life was all around, and signs of animals were plentiful, too. She saw snakes, lizards, birds and even a large-eared fox prowling around. Everything had an almost unnatural beauty to it, every specimen a striking example of its species. She hadn't paid as much attention back in the moonlit forest, but thinking on it, she hadn't seen any misshapen flora or fauna there, either.

As she came around a rocky outcropping, a flash of movement caught her eye. She turned her head to spy a horrible sight: a scorpion, sporting a dusty dark brown carapace, the size of a small car! Its tail raised, it turned her way. Hoping to avoid a fight, she began moving away from it swiftly, but it gave pursuit. She quickly saw it was faster than her, and seemed spoiling for a fight. With a grimace, she turned and rushed it, feeling that energy inside her surge. It filled her body with that savage power she'd had before in the fight with the crocodile.

She closed in with a yell and swatted against its carapace with her claws, drawing furrows in the hard chitin. The scorpion wasted no time in lunging forward with a claw of its own, digging into her arm and savaging it further with its pincer grip. Its tail lashed forward, jabbing her in the chest, and she felt a burning as something was injected into her by the stinger.

Valerie attempted to break from its grip, and when she succeeded, threw both claws at the creature, trying to finish it off. An opening in its defense allowed her to strike it square in the back, and the chitin snapped under the force of her blow, letting her dig into its soft insides. It gave a chittering squeal, twitched and spasmed, then curled up on itself, going still.

Taking no chances, Valerie quickly severed the creature's tail and then gave its head a couple of stomps for good measure. "Serves you right, asshole." she muttered. Briefly she considered giving it a try, but given it was poisonous, decided there were probably better choices on the menu out there. As she resumed her journey, she was given pause by a fresh wave of weakness washing through her from the scorpion's venom. No further ill effects were forthcoming, so she stopped to rest in the shade of a shallow dune.

She awoke to find the desert and its low sunlit illumination still around her, rose and set about the business of finding sustenance. She located a likely-looking cactus, and as she passed by another nearby, she felt that strange diving-water-membrane sensation. Before she could think to try and stop, the flash of blackness came, and she once again found herself surrounded by nighttime.

"Shit." she muttered, and took stock of her surroundings. She appeared to be in a mountain pass or ravine of some kind. She quickly noticed it was much cooler up here. Looking about, she decided heading down was probably the best course of action, even if it might end up being made futile by wandering through another of these...doorways or whatever they were.

Despite feeling chilled and a little numb, she didn't feel things getting worse. Apparently, even frostbite was no match for her body's capacity to heal itself. As she descended, she caught sight of movement up a slope. A small herd of wild goats were grazing. Finding some likely rocks, she set about putting one down.

The others scattered, but that didn't matter. She had plenty of food to keep her going. Hefting the carcass up onto her shoulders, she continued moving, looking for a source of water. As luck would have it, she soon located a spring and helped herself.

The rustling sound of wings beating against the chilly mountain air and the flash of a shadow from above caused her to look up to spy two four-legged winged creatures soaring around. "Pegasuses?" she said wonderingly, seeing the equine shape.

But then she saw the feathers on the body, the beaks at the end of their snouts, and the clawed terminus of their limbs. Pegasus never looked like that! With a cry somewhere between an eagle's shriek and a horse's whinny, one of them rolled over and dove down at her! Its claws slashed at her shoulders, drawing blood, as the second circled.

Lashing out with her own claws, Valerie landed a single swipe, and the strange horse-bird answered with a rearward clawing kick as it flew past and up. Its mate gave forth its own screeching cry and swooped in to attack. Another wound added, even as her body fought to heal the injuries, Valerie reached inside and called upon that savage fury before she attacked this one with a cry of her own.

"DIE!" Her claws tore into its flesh, causing it to twist, and when it did she bit deep into its flank, tearing out a deep gouge. It gave forth a screaming cry as it lost control of its flight and sped past her to crash into the mountainside. A snarl of triumph and fierce grin crossed her face as she looked up at the remaining beast.

"COME ON!" she roared at it, blood on her hands and face, and it rolled over to dive at her anew, in vengeance for its dead mate. It struck another blow, and the wounds were starting to add up, healing or no. She was feeling weakened, but not downed yet. She tore at the creature, ripping deep gashes into its neck, and it too lost control to crash upon the rocks nearby, its lifeblood spilling forth onto the ground.

As her wounds continued to heal with that fierce itching sensation, the fury left Valerie and she again felt that shaky weakness of post-adrenaline. Breathing hard, she sat down and looked at the fallen bodies of the creatures. Even in death, they had a certain fierce beauty.

She wished she hadn't had to kill them, but they weren't showing her any mercy, either. _Is it possible for something to hurt me bad enough that I can die?_ she wondered as she washed herself of the horse-birds' blood. After a couple of minutes, she felt more or less recovered and rose, continuing her trek down the valley.

When fatigue set in, she located a likely outcropping of stones and settled in against them. It wasn't moss or sand, but eventually she grew too tired to care and fell asleep. She was stiff and sore when she awoke again, but a few minutes of getting up and moving around worked out much of that.

"Amazing. I should've frozen to death up here, being naked and all. But I don't feel any colder than when I first got here." she said to herself over a breakfast of cold mountain goat. Once she'd eaten, she resumed her journey, keeping a lookout for water. She eventually found a small stream babbling down along the slope, and drank all she could from it.

Looking up the slope, she stopped as she saw a dark space further up the side. "Is that a cave?" she asked herself, and started her way up the incline to get a closer look. As she drew nearer she saw her suspicion confirmed. It was, a fairly big one judging by the opening. Her excitement was tempered by caution as she came to the entrance.

Places like this tended to be occupied, since shelter was in short supply up here. She sniffed the air thoroughly, until she was sure she couldn't find any lingering scents that might indicate animals living there. As she prepared to enter, something else caught her eye.

Laying there on its side was a rock, not much different from others nearby, but a dark mark upon its surface caused her to turn it over. And her heart leaped into her throat. That was no natural occurrence. She had no idea what this symbol on it meant, but to her it meant there was some other kind of intelligent life here. A marker of some kind? In her excitement she called into the cave, "Hello?? I-is anyone there??" Only her echo and silence replied.

She put the rock back down with the mark facing outwards, and stepped into the gloom. It was cold in here, but the air was still and dusty. As she went deeper, her eyes adjusted automatically to the total lack of light. She discovered she could still see fine, though it didn't seem like she could see quite as far.

She paused to marvel at this discovery before continuing. The height of the cave was close to her own, so she stooped as she made her way deeper. A few scattered bones suggested something predatory must've laired here at some point. She paid them little mind, and explored further.

When she drew near to the end of the passage, she saw a figure there against the wall, human-shaped. Moving towards it quickly, she discovered it to be the long-dead remains of someone. Dressed in tattered fur clothing, the skeleton seemed to be for a fairly large figure, broad of shoulder.

The face seemed...off, somehow. Broader and heavier-boned around the brow and eye orbits, with prominent lower canines. She wasn't sure what it was. As she studied it, a skittering noise around her drew her eye to the sight of three huge insects, crawling from crevices.

Each was a tremendous centipede, with black carapaces and yellow legs and feelers. They moved to try and surround her, and she snarled, "Great, more fucking bugs." The creatures reared up and lunged their heads in, two of them wounding her and causing a burning sensation as their poison entered her body.

A terrible numbing sensation washed over her as some of it went to work. It didn't take much for her to call forth that savage fury inside her, and she turned to the one behind her, lashing out with her claws. She tore it apart with two fast blows and turned towards the remaining pair.

The centipedes both bit her, her reflexes slowed by the venom, and fresh doses were injected into her. Thankfully, no further numbing took place, and she turned her assault to one of the remaining bugs. It too was torn apart by her slashing blows, guts spilling on the cave floor, as the remaining one attacked anew. It missed her entirely, and she gave it a good swat, but barely managed to scrape her claws against it on her follow-up blow.

While initially she was reluctant to try and bite them, wanting to be done with them spurred her jaws into action. Its carapace popped in her mouth and she withdrew quickly, spitting the bug-juice out with haste. Kicking the dead bodies away, she slumped down near the remains of the dead whatever-it-was. She caught her breath as the post-adrenaline fatigue passed and she healed. Thankfully, no further effects from the poison made themselves known.

Even though she felt a bit numb, it wasn't cripplingly so, and Valerie set about examining the dead person more closely. What she assumed to be a he was wearing an outfit made from tanned hides and fur. None of it looked like it would really fit her, and the dark stain on one leg and discovery of a broken thigh bone told the story. Obviously he'd been hurt badly, taken shelter here, and died, either of exposure of starvation, she guessed.

The heavy fur cloak he wore could be useful. She gingerly tried to remove it, but ended up causing his skeleton to partially collapse anyways. She grimaced, and sighed. "No use being squeamish. Not like you're gonna get up and come after me for stealing your stuff." At least, she hoped that wasn't going to happen.

Regardless, she'd be a fool not to take advantage of what she found, especially as she discovered a quiver with spears inside it. Wooden hafts with metal points, that boded well. Four in number, they seemed well-balanced. She guessed they were probably meant to be thrown instead of used hand-to-hand. At his waist, a belt with a study double-edged knife and a pouch threaded onto it. She examined the contents and found a small wooden box.

Inside, a piece of grey rock marked with several shallow grooves, a small piece of metal and a little pile of wood shavings. From her time in Girl Scouts she recognized the purpose: a fire-starting kit. "Great! Now I can make a fire and maybe have a cooked meal for once!" she said, pleased.

Also slung upon his side was a drinking skin. It had probably been some animal's stomach at one time. "This'll come in handy, too." If she kept blundering through those doorways, being able to carry water was a real boon. After taking up the dead man's things, she looked at the disheveled remains on the ground.

"Whoever you were, thanks. I'll make good use of this stuff. I hope you found peace, wherever you went." She felt a little silly, but better to show respect than end up pissing some dead person off. With all the other weird stuff she'd seen, spirits of the dead didn't seem far-fetched anymore.

She tied the belt around her waist with the pouch and knife, slung the quiver and water skin over her shoulders, then draped the fur cloak around and tied it at her neck. It felt strange to be carrying, even wearing things again, but also made her feel more...herself, somehow. More like a person and less like a two-legged beast. Leaving the cave, she squinted about in the moonlight, and decided to give her new spears a try.

She drew one out, hefted it, and gave it an easy toss. It landed more or less where she wanted to. She followed suit with the others, and quickly discovered it felt less like quickly learning a new skill and more like practicing one she'd learned and just hadn't used in a while. After a few more practice volleys with them, she put them all away and set out again.

Before long, she located a water source again and put her new skin to good use. She rinsed it out once, then tried the water from it upon refilling. It had a bit of an odd taste, but she'd get used to it. Just being able to drink out of something instead of lapping it out of a stream was a relief.

As she continued her trip and began to grow tired, she came upon another cave. Sniffing around, this one too seemed abandoned. It didn't go nearly as deep into the mountainside, but it seemed like a good place to make camp. She took the chance to scavenge around for materials to build a fire and found some dry wood. Collecting some rocks, she made a fire circle and piled some wood up.

It took a few strikes with the flint and steel, but she got a spark and soon had a flame, then a nice warm fire crackling away. She sighed with relief as she settled onto her new fur cloak instead of the ground, feeling like she was living the high life.

Being able to enjoy the fire's warmth and glow, drink water from a container and try her hand at roasting some goat over the fire seemed mighty fine. Heating it up definitely made it a lot more enjoyable, and she laid back after her meal, content and ready for some well-deserved sleep.


	3. Hunter and Hunted

She was flying, drifting downwards in a rotating circle. Below her, a dot of light that swelled in size on her approach. Shapes appeared, growing in definition. It reminded her of a map of the world, flattened out to provide an overview. It had no familiar landmasses, but as she grew nearer, she could make out more detailed shapes and colors.

Plains and forests, hills and mountains. Areas of cold and snow, places of arid heat. She floated there above it, an observer, as from the darkness, figures approached to stand around it. None of them seemed familiar, except the hulking monstrous one with red eyes she'd seen a few nights ago.

One who stood there wore a long robe of midnight blue, had a great white beard and long mane of hair. He carried a carved staff, and waved it above the map. He spoke in a deep, authoritative voice. "The world is for our children, who will dwell where we deem fit. I shall send mine among your creations to give counsel."

A second, who had blue skin and hair more like ice, a great beard and wore a horned helm said, "Mine will dwell in the frozen reaches and keep winter in their hearts."

A third, whose skin was black, with bristling red hair like flames and burning yellow eyes, said "Mine will make great works in the burning lands above and below the ground. None will match them for craft."

A fourth, whose skin was grey and head denuded of hair, said "Mine will live in the stones and bones of the world, to keep their own peace and solitude."

A fifth, who had auburn hair, blue eyes and a pleased expression, gestured grandly as he said "Mine will live among the clouds and make revel at the coming and going of the sun and storms."

A sixth, who seemed a heavyset, thuggish Neanderthal in filthy hides, said "Mine live where there food to eat and things to kill!"

And at the last, the hideous one from her dreams scowled at the others and said, "You think there's no room for my children? You're wrong! They will live here!" he stabbed a clawed finger at the map, "And here! And here!"

He pointed wildly, all across it. "Anywhere they can find yours, they will slay them and they will eat them, until they rule a kingdom of bones, all that will be left of your works!"

As his words seemed to echo, she felt that stretching, swelling sensation again in her dreams. Her perspective flew up and away until the point of light winked one last time and vanished.

Valerie snapped awake, to the glow of moonlight from the cave mouth. The embers of her fire were all but gone, and the smell of the smoke filled the air. She sat up, feeling that exercised burn in her muscles, and with it a sense of power like she felt in that savage state of fury she could enter. Only she wasn't in it. "The Hell kind of dream was that?"

It felt like she'd witnessed the performance of a legendary tale, only she got the impression that wasn't just a story someone made up to explain what they didn't understand, like back home. "If that's real...was that a god sending it to me?"

The possibility and implications of that rattled briefly in her mind as she got her feet under her, only to be jarred loose when she stood and "Ow!" She bumped her head unexpectedly on the roof of the cave. Ducking down and rubbing briefly at the fading point of pain, she muttered, "What the Hell? This place shrink overnight?"

Looking down, she noticed her perspective seemed a bit skewed as well. Drawing the knife out and handling it, did it seem a little smaller in her hand? "Or did I get bigger?" she countered her previous question. Putting the knife back, she got her water skin, had a drink, and stepped outside the cave mouth.

From what she could recall the previous night of her eye line in relation to it, it seemed one of the two was the only explanation. And since it seemed a lot easier for her to get bigger, that was the likely one. It made sense, really. Thinking back to after her last weird dream state, she had felt a little off her balance the next day.

"And I thought I was just sick." But it made sense she wouldn't realize. With no fixed point of reference, how could she be really sure? "Wish I had a measuring tape. Ha, or a basketball goal." She chuckled at that image, walking up and just dropping a ball in the hoop. Then sighed in longing for home, and set about gathering her things.

"Time to see how well I do with these." she said of the spears when she slung them on her shoulder. The goat was more or less gone, but she had a quick snack of what was left, grimacing at eating it half-frozen. Then set out down the valley once more, scenting the air for any likely prey.

Pausing to fill her water skin and load up on drink in the process, she found a trail. More goats, judging from the marks and smell of their scat. Following it, she soon located the herd. Taking a spear in hand, she aimed, drew back, and released.

The shaft flew straight as a bullet with a satisfying snap of her arm. Wow, she was strong! And it just came so naturally to throw the spear like that. It skewered the goat, which gave a choked bleat before it hobbled a few steps, fell over and went still. She jogged over and recovered her weapon before setting about feasting on fresh kill.

She was still feeling numb from the centipedes' venom the day before, but at last she felt like she had her energy back. And she definitely had gotten stronger. "Eat and grow strong. Hell yeah." she said as she finished off a leg of goat. "Wonder how much bigger I'm gonna get?"

She took up the rest of the carcass and resumed her trek. A smile crossed her face as she imagined herself towering over the mountains like a child among a train set or other scale model playground. She hoped she wasn't getting that big; the idea of something that large actually walking around was not a pleasant one.

Her descent from the higher mountain valley continued apace, with her stopping to rest, eat and replenish her water supply. She found no caves, but a warm fur to wrap herself in made sleeping among the slopes and fallen scree much more comfortable.

Days passed, as the numbness abated and vanished, before she found herself wandering into more forested, sprawling valley areas. Behind her she could see the higher slopes where she'd been. Besides game animals, she'd not spotted any more creatures.

As she made her way along a trail worn by the passage of animals to what she presumed was a water source, from behind she heard a sound of rushing movement and turned to see a large bearlike creature charging at her. It reared up to swat her, and she saw...a beak?

A paw with long, sharp talons scraped against her shoulder harmlessly as she dodged to one side, and the creature let out a hooting roar, towering over her even at her current size. Its shaggy coat seemed to be a mix between fur and feathers both as it attacked ferociously.

It struck a powerful blow and took hold, failing to land a follow-up with its other paw. Valerie grit her teeth and let loose the fury inside her, roaring back at the bizarre bird-bear and throwing it off before responding in kind with her own sharp claws. She tore into its hide and then thrust her head in, biting one of its forelimbs.

Despite its injuries, the creature continued to attack just as fervently as before, slashing with its claws, latching on and biting with its razor-sharp beak. Once again, Valerie threw the creature off her and in a chance moment, thrust her claws up, grabbing its throat and digging in.

With a last bloody rip, she tore its throat open and sent it toppling over with a warbling gurgle. The fury left Valerie and she crouched down, catching her breath while she got a better look at the bear-bird. It reminded her of an owl, in the way its face was structured.

"Great. Owlbears. Why not? Goes perfect with Bat-Squitos and Skull-Cats." she grumbled as she stood, took a drink and picked a few remnants of fur and feathers from her teeth. A last look at the dead beast, then she resumed her trek. Thankfully, no more of them made themselves known, so she finally found a likely spot to make camp and rest.

The next day, she came upon a young Elk and brought it down, restocking her food stores. Now that she had a more plentiful supply of wood in the area, she could afford to make a fire and roast her kill. Even that simple bit of civilization was a welcome treat. It made her feel like she was living, not just surviving.

"Wish I'd paid more interest in survival courses." she lamented to herself as she experimented with finding ways to cook the meat. If she could preserve it, she wouldn't have to hunt as much. Not that food seemed to be in short supply. At least undercooking it wasn't a problem.

Truth be told, she tended to favor it on the rare side, which was unusual, given she used to eat everything well-done. "If someone had told me where I'd be today a month ago, I'd have laughed and asked what drugs they were on." It was a concern how things seemed to be changing for her as she spent more time here, like this.

"But what am I gonna do? Go find a support group for people turned into monsters and living in the wilderness? 'Hi, I'm Valerie and I'm a basketball player turned ugly green killing machine.' 'Hi, Valerie!' " she pretended to wave at herself and snorted as she had another drink of water. "This week I started having imaginary conversations with myself!"

She drew a deep breath and sighed. Nothing else she could do, really. She had to survive. If this helped her survive, well...who was gonna say anything? The Owlbears? She gave a snort of laughter as she pictured one of the great shaggy beasts in a white overcoat with a clipboard asking her questions about her childhood.

With a gaping yawn, she lay upon her sleeping fur and got comfortable. "Paging Dr. Bear. Dr. Owl Bear." she muttered, and chuckled a last time before settling in to sleep. When she arose, she laughed again thinking of psychiatric owlbears while gathering her things, and set out into the perpetual night once more.

As she passed through a stand of trees, Valerie felt an odd prickle at the back of her neck. Looking around, she saw no signs of danger, but there between two of the trees...a heat shimmer? She went closer, tensing in case something dangerous really did lurk nearby.

When she got close to it, she could hear a faint sound at the edge of comprehension, a thin wavering note. It reminded her of that sound old science-fiction movies used for flying saucers and the like. Staring at the shimmer, she smelled the air, but got nothing from it. She reached a finger out, touched her claw tip to it, and felt resistance.

It hit her. This was one of those doorways, like she'd stumbled into before! For some reason, she could see this one. Looking at it more intently, she could almost feel a connection to it. It seemed...open, somehow, but she got the feeling it was a one-way trip. Staring at it intently, she saw...sunlight? Not the sunset glow of before, but real, true daylight!

"Okay, if the sun's actually up over there, it has to be better than being stuck in the dark all the time." she said, and taking a deep breath, stepped forward. She felt that familiar crossing-diving sensation, and sure enough...light! Bright, clear daylight filled the air, and she squinted, blinked several times before her eyes adjusted.

She gave a sigh of relief and stood there, feeling the warmth on her skin, basking in it. "Oh God, that feels good..." she groaned, then started to take stock of her surroundings. She was again in forest, much like she'd been in after leaving the swamp. Gently rolling hills surrounded her, and the song of birds was in the air.

She started walking, keeping her eyes and ears alert, scenting the air, and it wasn't long before she located another game trail. Following it downhill, she soon came to a stream, whose course she began striding alongside. Enjoying the change in scenery and feeling much more comfortable in the sun's rays, she continued along.

Suddenly, she was struck by a sound she hadn't heard in some time: thunder. She looked to the skies, saw the clouds passing overhead. Then...rain! Rain, falling from the sky! She laughed in surprised delight and twirled in exuberance to feel such a natural, normal thing again, even if she used to hate getting caught out in it back home.

She'd noticed the sun seemed to be stuck here too, in a point that seemed either mid-morning or mid-afternoon. But she didn't care. To encounter some actual weather again was welcome enough. She didn't mind getting wet, and the way it changed the smell of everything around her was novel as well.

It did remind her of the messy state of her hair, but she couldn't obsess over that. Maybe if she ever found civilization she could do something about it. If people could make metal spear points, they should be able to make soap...right? Of course, that assumed something like her would be welcome in a civilized area.

She tried not to dwell too deeply on that, even if it was a fear for her. Mostly how she'd take such rejection. Instead she kept moving, kept looking for signs of anything other than animal life. Eventually, fatigue set in, and she settled down to make camp and rest once more.

Her journey along the stream soon led her to a confluence the next day, and she tried her hand at a little spear fishing. After a few misses, she landed a good-sized one and dined before continuing along. As she made her way downstream, ahead she heard a strange chirping sound. Not like a bird, this was something else.

Coming into view was a bend in the river, where the water slowed into an ox-bow. Upon the island outcropping, she spied a group of small blue lizards, four in number. Each couldn't have been more than a foot long, but all stood on their hind legs with stiff tails and large horns that reminded her of pointed ears.

"They're like pugs. So ugly they're cute." she commented with a smile. She took a few steps down the sloping ground and was caught off-guard by a loose stone on the bank. It tumbled from her footing into the river, and with a cry of alarm, she joined it with a loud splash.

The water wasn't terribly deep, but she still managed to get pretty wet. Clamoring out of the water onto the island, she found herself face-to-face with the lizards. They had backed away, but were all now raising those horns on their heads and making rapid clicking noises, tails raised up almost parallel with their backs.

She could feel an odd tingling sensation in the air, but she paid it little mind as she stood up. "Easy, I'm not here to cause trouble." she said. But they paid her assurance no mind as she saw, arcing between the horns and tails of the creatures, what looked like...electricity?

"What the Hell?" she muttered, just before the energy surged, leapt between the four in a chain and exploded into the air with a furious humming snap and sizzle of ozone. Valerie threw herself to the side, but there was no escaping the burst of power completely.

Before she could react, another blast erupted and caught her full-force, leaving her weakened. She unleashed the primal power inside her and stepped close to attack the nearest lizard. Her claws skittered at the nimble little creature's hide, but her teeth gave it a good bite.

Again the lizards unleashed a blast of lightning upon her, and she felt herself tumbling forward and blacking out. An instant later she awoke again, and threw herself up from the ground to claw at the nearest lizard again. Again, the lizard avoided harm, and again they electrocuted her. This time her blackout lasted longer.

But she snapped awake again, and saw from the corner of her eye the lizards still there nearby. Despite feeling that fury still burning in her, she decided discretion was wiser and closed her eyes, laying there and recuperating. The fury left her, and she nearly passed out again.

Over the course of a couple of minutes, the numbing, burning sensations all through her body lessened until they vanished completely. Opening her eyes, she saw the one she'd injured was there nearby still. That she'd survived their electrical barrage was amazing, but it also drove home a concept she'd just barely grasped before.

She got better. And they didn't. Reaching out, she tried to swat the nearby lizard, missing it completely. The lizards turned and began their threat display again. She stood up and slashed at the same lizard, this time knocking it aside, bleeding badly. "Round Two, you little bastards."

The remaining three charged up and blasted her once again. She grimaced with the pain but advanced on the nearest lizard, slashing at it with her claws. The creature was knocked flat with her blow, and she grinned savagely. "Two down!" she snarled at them. Undaunted, the remaining lizards let electricity arc forth again.

The power of the attack had been weakened by the loss of the other two, and she came forward to attack the third lizard. It dodged her blow, and the electrical burst was unleashed by the pair once more. Valerie just laughed, feeling crazed by all the shocks and her seeming immortality in the face of the dangerous little creatures.

She gave the lizard a good swat, but her follow-up swipe and bite were dodged before she felt the stinging jolt from the pair yet again. With a savage roar, she slashed her claws out and tore the little lizard open, spilling its guts across the rocks, before closing on the final lizard.

All alone, it once again attacked, this time barely even shocking her. Compared to the thunder she'd experienced before, this was like a static jolt. She tore into it and put it out of commission, looking around at the island and the dead lizards. Her injuries began healing, and as she cast her eyes about, she noticed something.

There in the center, amidst a stand of long grass, was a nest. Within it, a clutch of eggs rested. Ten in number. It hit her then why they'd been so eager to drive her off, hadn't fled from her even as she killed them all. "They were just protecting their nest." A wave of remorse washed through her. She hadn't needed to do this.

She could've backed away, but after being hurt, she let her rage take hold of her. And again, when she'd been knocked out, she could've left. But she let vengeance take hold and delighted in killing them off. And for what? To orphan their offspring? What was she becoming? Like that monster in her dream, urging her to kill and eat everything?

That told the other...gods, she guessed...its children would kill and eat all of theirs until none were left? She did what she needed to survive, but this wasn't it. It left her feeling disturbed and muted as she left the island behind, trudging along the riverbank until exhaustion set in and she lay down to rest.

She'd enjoyed killing other things, too. The horse-birds, the giant bugs, even that owlbear thing. But they'd all attacked her first. "Survival. Not slaughter." she muttered to herself, and felt a release of some of her guilt as she made that resolution. Soon sleep came, and with it nonsensical dreams of electric skull-cats dancing among the clouds.

It was strange to wake up to the sun shining in the sky like this. She'd almost gotten used to being in the dark all the time. But feeling it on her skin and seeing blue skies above lifted her spirits. She could almost pretend she wasn't a big green monster if she closed her eyes.

But it couldn't last. She had to keep moving. She set off again, stopping when she caught the scent of another wild pig. Trailing it away from the river to a nearby glade where it was foraging, she took up her spear, loosed...and was caught by surprise when a large dark shape slammed into the pig, ripping and biting at it.

The pig let out a choked squeal before it was pushed into the ground, dead. The creature that had jumped in was immediately recognized by her. She'd done a report on it for an elementary school project. It was a wolverine, but far, far larger than the ones back home.

This monster was close to twice her size in length, with huge claws like pickaxes. It looked around at her and gave forth a loud snarling cry, placing itself between her and the kill. She might have been tempted to back off, but her spear was still there in the boar's side.

Besides, it didn't look like it was in the mood to let her walk away. She strode forward, drawing her arm back, and with a tensing snap to her swing, brought her claws down at the beast. She drew lines of blood on its wedge-shaped head, but it looked at her with a sudden glare and let forth a terrible cry. Its fur stood up and it reared to try and tear her to bits.

Its claws ripped at her chest, though she avoided its teeth. Feeling that anger surge in her, she let it loose and gave a roar of her own before answering in violent kind. Her first blow tore a terrible wound in its side, and her follow-ups with claws and teeth left their mark as well.

Staggered by the savagery of her attack, the creature did not relent. Instead it threw itself in a final lunge at her with those claws, tearing at her skin, but ultimately succumbing to its wounds, slumping to the ground. Valerie stood there over it, looking at the huge animal, blood surging inside her.

As the fury faded, she stepped over it and recovered her spear before settling down by the dead pig, looking at the wolverine. It seemed so unreal that she could stand toe-to-toe with a creature like this and not only survive, but kill it as quickly as she did with nothing more than her claws and teeth.

She was fortunate to have turned into...whatever she was. As her old self she'd have been a crocodile's dinner in very short order. And there was that sense too that she was getting stronger. She wished she had someone to talk to, ask about all this crazy stuff. But it was just her and the trees and animals.

She set to work disjointing the pig, experimentally cutting its hide off and skinning off as much meat as she could, then wrapping it up in an awkward bundle. "Wish I had some of Mom's packing tape about now." Her mother was a fiend for keeping things in neatly labeled and taped boxes. Her Dad used to joke she was a UPS worker in her former life.

Thinking about them hit her with a pang of homesickness, and she grumbled with frustration as she got to her feet and shouldered the messy bundle of meat and hide. She tried not to think of them, focusing on going forward, but it was hard. It hurt to think of them worrying about her, calling everyone she knew, trying to find her.

How many other people had this happened to? How many had vanished through some...hole in the world and ended up in this place? The fact she never heard of this happening back home didn't bode well for getting back, either. While she'd heard stories of alien conspiracies and government cover-ups, she remembered something her boyfriend told her.

It was what the astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said about alien cover-ups. 'If the government is covering up knowledge of aliens, they are doing a better job of it than they do at anything else.' She'd laughed and nodded at that pithy summary. "Wonder what he'd make of all this..." she muttered.

Thinking of Tommy wasn't easy, either. Though they were still together, she had wondered how much longer it would last. He was starting his sophomore year, they only saw each other in person when he came home for holidays, and even keeping in touch over the Internet wasn't enough to keep distance from building.

Now she was in this place, and she had no way of knowing when or even if she could get back. She thought too of the Narnia stories, how the main characters spent decades in Narnia, growing up, only to end up back home with almost no time passed, returned to their childish selves. What if something like that happened? What if the opposite happened?

She tried not to dwell too much on it, but her mind would wander as she trudged along at that steady pace on her weird three-toed feet. She'd gotten used to her altered step and gait, same with the change to her posture and the proportions of her arms. But now and again she'd remember this wasn't how it was supposed to be.

And possibly the most worrying idea: what if she stopped remembering? That was a disturbing place she didn't want her mind to visit. She tried to distract herself, remember things from home. Names of people, places, things like sports teams and bands, songs and movies.

She remembered too her grandmother griping about young people not memorizing anything anymore, and relying on 'that Interpedia thing' to just look things up whenever they wanted. Valerie hadn't been as addicted to it as some, but the convenience of a smartphone was something she really noticed when it was gone.

"What I'd give to just have a book to read." she lamented, drew in a deep breath to sigh...and stopped. Was that smoke on the breeze? She lifted her head and took several more sniffs. Near as she could tell, it was, from somewhere downstream and possibly across the river. An excitement took hold and she hastened to find the source.

Ahead, the river course took a sharp turn, so she made a crossing through the knee-deep water to the far bank before continuing. The odor was getting stronger, and she spied through a clearing in the trees a trail of smoke rising into the sky. It wasn't a huge plume, so she assumed, hoped it was a deliberate fire and not some natural accident.

Drawing closer, she heard murmuring that was no animal's call. Through the trees she could make out grey-green shapes in a clearing and the rising column of smoke between them. She slowed down, began approaching as quietly as she could. She could see the shapes now were tents of some sort of cloth with mottled coloration, there in a riverside clearing.

There were two of them, arranged opposite one another, with a fire pit in between. And nearby were four humanoid figures. Valerie's heart leapt into her throat, to see other living people. She wanted to call out and wave at them, but she also didn't want to frighten them.

They were all dressed in green and brown outfits made from what she guessed was leather and cloth, and all were armed with bows and swords. Three were seated close to the fire, one drinking from a skin like her own while the other two shared a meal. The mostly-stripped, cooked form of a small animal on a skewer nearby was likely the source.

They were speaking to one another in a flowing, almost musical tongue she didn't understand, while nearby a fourth was kneeling and working a tool of some kind on the back of an animal hide. Nearby a small pile of other hides rested. As best as she could tell, two of them were men and two women.

And by the ageless quality of their features and the points to their ears, she couldn't help but think of the Elves from the Lord of the Rings films. Though these beings had traits even the best human actors couldn't match. The large, foxish quality to their eyes and bone structure were nothing makeup could replicate.

One of the tents rustled as the flap was drawn, and out stepped another elf, this one wearing a set of metal armor colored green. It was finely-made chain mail, and on his hips he wore a pair of swords, as well as a bow upon his back. He spoke to the others, stepped over to the one working the hide and crouched down.

He spoke with her, took the tool, demonstrated its use, and handed it back. She nodded and smiled at him, and he gave her a quick pat on the shoulder before he rose...and stopped in a half-crouch. Looking straight at her. Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Then he was rising with a cry, and the others all looked up and around.

His hand pointed at her, and she flinched, ducking behind the tree she was looking around. She heard clattering of wood, and peered around to see all the Elves holding their bows, arrows out and nocked on the strings. The one in the mail stood out before the other four.

She saw too there was another elf there, this one a female and dressed in some sort of long, loose robe, standing behind them, watching with concern. Valerie was torn. She wanted to run, but she also didn't want to lose the chance to make peaceful contact. Maybe if she approached, tried to speak.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped around the side of the tree and raised her hands. Hopefully they understood this gesture as one of peaceful approach. She took a few slow steps forward, and while a couple of the Elves drew their bows, the one she guessed might be their leader remained watchful.

"Please, I'm not here to hurt anyone." she said, her voice still gruff despite the emotion welling inside her. Their eyes widened and words passed between them. She took another couple of steps, and one of them yelled something and let loose an arrow.

It thudded into the trunk of a tree near her, and she stopped, lowering her head and raising her hands higher. "I don't want to fight! I just want to talk!" she said desperately. The female in back spoke, and the other elves looked at her. Words flew between them again, and one spoke. It wasn't a language she'd ever heard before, but she understood it!

Like a door opening inside her mind, the vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and syntax, all of it washed into her consciousness. She almost missed what he said: "What are you doing here, Troll?" She replied in that same language, "I-I just want to talk! Please, what's this language we're speaking? I've never heard it before!"

The elf who spoke looked dumbstruck, and apparently translated her words, as the others looked on with shock, and quickly suspicion. The leader seemed caught between curiosity and concern, and the robed woman spoke up. The others looked at her, then looked at their leader. He spoke, and the one she could understand nodded.

"How do you speak a tongue you don't know the name of?" he asked. Valerie shrugged, "I have no idea! Please, you have to believe me! I'm not really a...a Troll, did you say? I'm a human, my name is Valerie, and I'm lost and I have no idea where I'm at and I just want to find a way home!"

The elf spoke to the others as she finished, and they looked around at each other and murmured, while keeping a very close eye on her. She watched with trepidation, hoping they'd keep trying to speak with her. The one who seemed to be their leader listened, and looked at the robed woman.

She seemed concerned herself, and spoke slowly to the others. The four in leathers all spoke, and their leader listened. Looking at Valerie a last time, he spoke to the one who'd been playing translator, who nodded. "We don't believe you. For our safety, you must leave. If you don't, we will take action to protect ourselves. Go and do not return."

Valerie's heart sank like a stone into a well. "No! No, please! PLEASE!" she threw her hands out before her in a beckoning gesture. The Elves raised their bows in an instant, arrows drawn, and shot at her. She ducked and managed to avoid being hit, then with a cry of frustration and anguish, turned and fled into the woods.

Behind her, she heard the voice of the robed woman shouting at the others, but she quickly ate up distance, running from the camp. Her emotions were spiraling inside her. Anger, sadness, frustration. Being rejected by them had hurt as much as she feared it might, and then some.

After several minutes, she slowed and stopped, propping herself against a tree with one hand. She felt a knot in her guts, tensing and churning upon itself. A pressure seemed to build inside her, as she clenched at the bark of the tree, digging her claws into the wood. Then she yanked her hand back, drew breath, and gave a wordless cry of rage.

Her arms flailed as she vented her emotions violently upon the tree, gouging the bark, filling the air with the scent of its sap. Tears streamed from her eyes as she kept yelling and tearing away. This went on for a few minutes, until at last her anger was spent and she slumped down, sobbing.

For weeks she'd been keeping it in, all her fear and loneliness, trying to hold it at bay on the hope she'd find someone she could get help from. Now that had failed, and all that pent-up emotion broke through like the fall of a dam. Anger was her first response; sorrow was the second.

She lay there for some time, wallowing in her misery. Part of her wanted to give up, to just die and be free of what seemed like torment. Part of her wanted to go back and force the elves to talk, to tell her what she wanted to hear. And a very small part wanted to go back, slaughter them all, and perhaps torture them.

That thought was like a splash of cold water, and she shook herself of it quickly. She couldn't let herself fall to such a dark impulse. And with that, insight. Are...Trolls like that? Are they normally vicious killing machines that eat anything they can find? Is that why the Elves reacted the way they did?

It would make sense. It also gave her a whole new perspective on the notion of racism. She understood the concept intellectually, but she'd never encountered it on an emotional level. And if they really were Elves, a completely different race, that made it far more of a divide than the superficial differences of humanity.

Calming herself, considering these notions, she got back to her feet and went to the river, sitting to have some water and consider what she would do now. On the plus side, she now understood another language. She had no idea what it was, but at least something spoke it here. Maybe it was Troll?

On the minus side, her initial attempt at contact was a failure. But that didn't mean the plan itself was wrong. It just hadn't worked this time. She'd just have to hope she could find someone else and it would work that time. Also on the minus side, she'd lost her bundle of pig meat in her flight from the Elves' camp.

At least that problem wasn't hard to solve. She went back down the river until she found a likely spot and did a little spear-fishing. Catching some dinner, she made camp and settled in to rest. The next morning, she went fishing again, and considered her next course.

Going back the way she came seemed pointless, but she couldn't go downriver on this side. The Elves were still down there. Maybe if she went across and kept a wide enough berth, while keeping the river in sight, she could get around them and downriver, avoid trouble.

With that, she travelled upstream until she found her way back to the bend she'd forded the day before, crossed, and followed the river around on the opposite shore, straying away as far as she dared. Hours passed with no sign of the Elves, so she assumed she was out and away from their territory by now.

Hopefully they weren't ranging away in the same direction as her. Though it made her wonder where they might actually live. How far from home were they? She doubted they just went wandering around camping all the time. Judging by the pile of skins, they were hunting for pelts.

How much of a world was out there? What kind of other beings inhabited it? Given the language she'd spoken had a word for humans, she could assume they were here. That gave her hope too, though judging by the Elves' dress, it didn't seem likely this world had technology like she knew back home.

Was this really some sort of fantasy world, like Middle-Earth? So much that remained unknown. She hoped she'd manage to get some answers soon. In the meantime..."Survival." It had become the watchword of her experience here. As the day wore on, she stopped again to fish, make camp and rest once more.

Several days passed as she followed the river's course further and further. She noticed other streams feeding into it, and that it was slowly growing larger. Where was it headed? To a sea of some kind? She hadn't seen or heard any signs of other beings since encountering the Elves. How deep in the wilderness was she?

A chance kill of another deer had her settling down to butcher it. She was getting better at separating the bits she liked best from the carcass and tying them up in the hide. Long as game was abundant, she could afford to be pickier about her food. And besides, there were bound to be plenty of things around here that'd finish off her leavings.

While she worked, she heard something rustling around in the brush, behind her. She turned to look...and her heart skipped a beat as she saw, prowling closer towards her, a wolf the size of a horse. It had a brindled grey coat, and large yellow eyes, looking intently at her.

Before she could react, it was on her in a flash, biting and tearing at her shoulder. It tried to yank her back, but she pulled away and rose swiftly to her feet. She unleashed the fury inside her and attacked, delivering a slashing cuff to the side of its shaggy head. Turned aside by the blow, she thrust her other hand in and tore at its throat.

It yelped in pain as she thrust her mouth down to follow suit with a lethal bite. Drawing back, she looked at the large lupine as its eyes went glassy and its body slumped to the ground. Her rage faded and she stared at the dead wolf in surprise. "That was fast." she remarked, looking at the huge creature.

It was really quite beautiful, and she felt a stab of sorrow at having to kill it like this. But like those horse-birds, it had attacked first, and she had little choice but to defend herself. A deep breath and a sigh, then she settled back to dressing her kill before moving on. She thought too of the Elves. What a prize a pelt like that would be!

The thought crossed her mind of trying to skin it, maybe see if she could track the Elves, offer it to them. But she wasn't sure if she could find them, let alone how they'd react. Another sigh, and she continued on her travels, stopping again to camp, feast and find her rest.


	4. Splish-Splash

She was running as hard as she could, through a maze of darkened tunnels. Behind her, shapes galloped, relentless in their pursuit. She saw others running too, hulking shapes similar to her own. A cry as one went down, and others swarmed around it. Screams echoed, but she was too busy fleeing to see what was happening.

One by one, she saw others falling, screaming. Try as she might, she eventually stumbled, fell. They were on her in a flash. And her world exploded into pain as claws and teeth tore into her. She could see them, huge Trolls, ripping pieces of her away, stuffing them into their mouths, or just biting them off.

She tried to fight them off, but the pain was too great. All she could do was scream and feel her flesh healing again and again, only to be devoured anew. Dimly, she realized this is what she had been eating in her previous dreams: other Trolls. Through the haze of pain, a deep and ominous laugh echoed.

THIS IS WHAT AWAITS THE WEAK, THE COWARDLY. THOSE WHO DO NOT KILL AND EAT ALL THEY SEE. WHEN YOU DIE, YOU WILL BE FOOD FOR THOSE WHO WERE STRONG IN LIFE. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE! YOU WILL BE MINE!

She awoke, screaming. Her arms thrashed around her at imaginary Trolls while her body still burned with the memory of pain. Heart hammering in her chest, sweat covering her, she panted as she realized it was a dream. "Shit. Holy fucking shit." she stammered, wiping her face.

As she calmed down, she remembered the words of that thing - god? - and felt a knot of dread. Was it telling the truth? Was she doomed to join it in death, no matter what? It was a very unsettling prospect, and one that ate at her while she broke camp and fished for breakfast.

Once she started feeling more clear-headed after those nightmarish dreams, she noticed she had grown once more. A quick check alongside one of her spears confirmed it. She was taller, and while she felt heavier, she also felt more balanced and responsive.

Sometime later she came upon a creature with a familiar shape that surprised her to see roaming wild. She could swear it was a cow. Of course, she was used to thinking of cattle as purely domesticated animals. But they had to have come from wild ancestors at some point. It stood there in the shallows, drinking from the river.

While she was considering that, the large bovine looked at her, its long, up-curving horns pointed in her direction. It gave a snort and started to turn in her direction. She reached over her shoulder for a spear, when from the brush nearby another familiar shape leapt and collided with the bull. This one, though, was only known from movies.

The huge talons on its legs and razor claws tore at the bovine, which lowed in terror, before the dinosaur sunk its teeth into its neck and it collapsed to the ground. It stood on two legs, and it looked at her with a quick, birdlike alertness. It leaned forward and let out a loud hiss, spreading its clawed forearms wide, stalking to one side.

Valerie could hardly believe it. It was a raptor, like from the Jurassic Park films. It didn't look exactly like them, but the shape was unmistakable. With a sudden screech, it charged forward and leapt into the air, talons, claws and teeth all striking at her. Its talons raked at her flesh, but the claws and teeth merely scraped her skin or struck air.

As she prepared to strike back, she heard rushing steps from behind and saw a second one leaping at her! Surrounded, she wasn't able to defend herself nearly as well, so this one landed both talons as well as a claw and bite. Valerie let loose the fury inside her and hauled her arm back, drawing on that curious tensing snap she'd used before.

Her claws and teeth dug into the saurian's flesh, though it seemed the snapping power of her blow had little effect. It didn't matter, as the ferocity of her attacks wounded the creature so much that it dropped over. She turned, able to focus on the sole remaining raptor as it leapt up to attack her.

Its talons tore at her anew, but she was not so easily dispatched. Another assault of claws and teeth saw the raptor joining its mate on the riverside, bloodied and still. Her fury left her, and she crouched down, catching her breath and looking at the two dead animals.

"Real dinosaurs." she said in wonder. This was more amazing to her than the fantastic things she'd already seen, as this was an extinct creature from home, still living in this place. "Maybe this is what happened to them? They travelled to this world somehow?" If she could do it, why not dinosaurs?

For that matter, what about other extinct creatures? Or maybe things from this world crossing over to hers. Could that explain some of the myths they had? She pondered that as she went to the carcass of the bull and drug it up the shore enough to get it out of the water, so she could set to butchering it.

She supposed eventually she might find out. She hoped to, anyways. For now, the prospect of having a nice bit of beef to eat was good enough. She cut up enough to wrap in the creature's hide, then resumed her travels, following the river. When she felt it was getting near time to stop and make camp, her trek inland from the river brought a sound to her ears: a buzzing drone.

"Bees?" she wondered, and then a smile came to her face. "Honey!" Valerie had never been a pig for sweets, but she did enjoy them, and the lack of any in her diet recently made the prospect of some of the sticky substance very welcome. She set her bundle down and tracked the sound to its source.

She was disappointed to see it wasn't a beehive. It looked more like a wasp's nest, albeit a really big one. As she looked at it, a flash of movement in the air drew her eye to see a huge wasp hovering there, the size of a bird. It flitted from side to side, and she could smell a curious odor on the air.

Within moments, three more had joined it and were circling around nearby. She started to back away, but the wasps flitted closer. Then they flicked their abdomens in her direction, as a series of glowing projectiles swarmed towards her! Eight in number, they struck her skin with a numbing burst of force, although two of them seemed to have no effect on her.

It felt like something had blocked it, something she hadn't been aware of having. Not having time to contemplate it, she withdrew, hoping to avoid a fight, but the strange wasps pursued her aggressively. Her injuries began to heal, but before they were recovered the wasps fired those projectiles again.

She tried to dodge them, but they changed course to strike unerringly at her. Again, two of them seemed to do her no harm, but the other six burst against her skin again. Valerie wasn't going to put up with this. She tried to leave them alone, but they weren't letting her. "Fine! My turn!" she snarled, and pulled out a spear.

She tossed it, and the wasp avoided it easily. As they circled her, staying out of her reach, she drew another and tried once more. It too missed, as did her third. "Fuck!" she swore, before the wasps threw another volley at her. This time, only four projectiles struck. She threw her last spear and the point skirted the side of the wasp, hurting it.

As the frustrating insects continued to circle and pursue, Valerie sought out one of her spears, recovered it and hurled it at the one she'd already hit. It missed, and she yelled "COME ON!" in exasperation before the wasps fired anew. Four projectiles struck, and Valerie snarled in anger.

Trying to find her spears and keep throwing them was time-consuming. If she wanted to kill these things anytime soon, she needed a steady supply of ammo. Inspiration struck, and she turned to flee down to the riverside. Splashing into the shallows, the wasps pursued before she could gather any stones, firing once more.

Six projectiles struck, and Valerie was beginning to tire, despite her fearsome regenerative ability. But now it was time to squish the little bastards. She grabbed a nice smooth stone from the water, wound her arm back, and hurled. It barely skimmed the side of the pest, but the satisfying crack it made when it struck a tree downrange gave her a grim smile.

Spirits lifting, she grabbed another rock and struck the wasp she'd hit before, this time knocking it from the sky with a crisp crunching sound. She whooped as she grabbed another and took aim at a second. It missed, but her resolve was firm. She was going to fastball these little bastards right out of the sky or go down trying.

The wasps kept firing, four projectiles striking her. She still felt weak, but she wasn't about to stop. She hurled a rock and hit one, knocking it for a loop, though it stayed airborne. Obviously it was badly hurt, it started trying to fly away. She wasn't about to make it that easy, a second rock taking it out of the air.

"Eat that, assholes!" she cried as she took up another rock, hurled it and struck a third wasp down. The remaining wasp fired at her, and Valerie laughed when its projectiles splashed harmlessly against her tough hide. Taking up another rock, she fired it off with a fury that would've made Major League pitchers as green as her in envy and splattered the last wasp.

"Wow! That was amazing!" called a voice from behind her, making Valerie jump and stumble forward to spin around, then stare at the sight there in the river. An almost equine head with large black eyes and a delicately scaled, iridescent pale yellow-green hide was protruding from the water.

Again, recognition flooded into her that this was another language she hadn't realized she knew. As she continued to gawp, a pair of large pale green fins - wings? - rose from the water, rustled and settled. It had a long, serpentine shape, from what she could see of it.

"Where did you learn to throw like that?" it asked her, writhing in the water and coming closer to shore. Its voice had a higher pitch to it than she'd expected, and even though it had a mouth full of teeth, it had a certain innocent cuteness about it that reminded her of a young animal.

Still thrown off-balance by the sudden arrival of the odd serpentine creature, Valerie stammered "Uh..I...just practice a lot." The creature said, "Are you a Troll? My mother told me Trolls were big green things with long noses and big claws and teeth. She said they were evil, but you're not evil. I can tell!" it drew itself up and bobbed its head back and forth.

"Uh...yeah. Well, I am now. I wasn't always one." That made the serpent-thing turn its head sideways. "Really? What did you used to be?" Valerie raised a clawed hand and scratched at her scalp, "I...I was a human." She suddenly felt more naked than she had since she first arrived. Even with the Elves, the way they'd driven her off so quick hadn't given her time to get self-conscious.

"So you were cursed by a bad spellcaster? My mother said that happens sometimes. I wish I could help you, but I don't have much magic."

To hear something talk openly about magic like that was a surprise, but not as shocking a revelation as it might've once been. "Thanks. No, I just fell into some kind of...magic door or something. When I passed through, I changed and wound up here."

"Oh. I never heard of that happening. Was it scary? I bet it was scary."

"Yeah, it was." She looked back to the woods, thought of her spears and her food. "Look, I need to get my things, I left them back up there." she pointed into the trees.

The young creature bobbed its head up and down, "Okay! You're gonna come back, right?" it asked, a hopeful note in its voice.

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, I will." She turned and went into the woods. Something else to talk to! She could hardly believe her luck. Even if it was some kind of river-serpent thing, it at least was better than talking to herself. She hurried back, scenting her gathered beef, then scavenged around the wasp's nest.

Fortunately, no more of those giant wasps showed up, and she was soon returning to the riverside. When she arrived, she saw the serpent there in the shallows. It was longer than she was tall, with four short, stubby legs, and if those finlike things weren't wings, they sure did a good job looking like it.

It kept bending its head down to pick rocks up and toss them by whipping its head sideways. She couldn't help but smile at the sight, and when it saw her return it opened its mouth in a smile and writhed side to side, splashing its webbed feet in the water. "You're back! I was trying to throw rocks, but I'm not very good at it."

Valerie laughed, "I wouldn't be either if I was using my mouth." The serpent gave a series of honking snorts, "I guess not! What's your name? Mine is Sarsplishagustarix, but you can call me Splish!" The odd name gave Valerie pause, but the nickname made her smile again. "Hello Splish, my name is Valerie Bridgewater, but you can call me Valerie."

"Hello Valerie! It's very nice to meet you! I never expected to meet a Troll, especially a nice one like you!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Splish. It's been a long time since I had anyone to talk to, much less a..."

"I'm a river dragon!"

"A river dragon." Valerie slung her sack of meat down, and Splish approached it, sniffing. "Oh, landwalker meat! I almost never eat landwalker meat! Usually just fish. But sometimes I'll catch a little landwalker. They tickle my mouth with all those funny scales on them!"

Valerie undid the hide and removed a chunk, "Would you like some?" she asked, and the little dragon's eyes brightened. "Oh yes, please!" She held out her hand, and in a flash, Splish nipped the piece of beef out of her palm before chewing it. "Mmm! It's good!"

"It's even better when you cook it." Splish's head turned to the side again, "What's that?" Valerie said, "I'll show you." She went up the shore and scavenged some wood before returning to make a fire. Splish returned to the water, rolling around in it, but watched as she set up the sticks and stones, coming out of the water when she brought out the tinderbox.

"What is that?"

"Just watch." she replied, and struck the stone to make a spark. Splish jerked back, but when the smoke rose and a flame flickered to light, that series of honking snorts came again as Splish wriggled and hopped around. "I've never seen that magic before! How did you learn to do it?"

Valerie shrugged, "Just something I was shown a long time ago. And it's not magic, it's just..." she struggled to find the right word to describe it, and the best she could find was "natural." Splish nodded, "It's a good trick, being able to make fire like that. But fire is dangerous. My mother told me to stay away from it if the forest caught fire."

Valerie took up a spare bit of wood and worked it with her claw to make a skewer, putting some meat on it. "She was right, it is dangerous if you're not careful. But if you are, it's very useful." She held the meat over the flames, and the smell of it roasting soon filled the air.

Splish sniffed at it, "The meat-smoke smells good! I've never smelled anything like that before!" Valerie gave a grin, "It tastes even better." Splish hopped around again in excitement, "This is so fun! I'm glad I met you, Valerie! Thank you for showing me such fun new things!"

Valerie nodded, "You're welcome. Maybe you can pay me back by answering some questions?" Splish nodded, "Sure!"

"Okay. Uhm...first, are you a male or a female river dragon?"

Splish gave more of those honking snorts that must've been laughter, "I'm a male! You can't tell?"

Valerie shook her head, "No, sorry. I've never seen a river dragon before."

"What about you? Are you a male or female Troll?"

That gave Valerie pause. "I'm...honestly not sure. As a human, I was female. But now, nothing about me seems...familiar in that way."

Splish settled down onto the ground, watching the meat cook. Valerie turned it, and asked "Have you heard of a place called Earth?"

Splish shook his head, "No. Why? Is that where you're from?"

"Yeah. I wanna get back home, hopefully find a way to turn back to human."

"Oh, magic can turn you back! Magic can do anything, if you know the right spell!"

Valerie perked up to hear that, "Really? Do you know anyone who could do that kind of spell?"

"No, sorry. We river dragons don't really work spells like that. We have a kinda natural magic we can do, like spells, but that's it."

"Oh. What about going back home? Do you know any way to do that?"

"I guess maybe there's a portal somewhere? There are portals all over the Beastlands, and the river Oceanus goes all through the Upper Planes."

"Beastlands? Is that where we're at?"

"Yeah, it's one of the Upper Planes."

"What's...never mind. Is this river the Oceanus one?"

"Kinda. It's a side-river that flows into it. It's not real far off, though. It's much bigger than this."

"It's just downstream?"

"Yeah. You keep going downstream and you'll find it. Once you do, if you wanna go to Arborea, you keep going downstream. If you wanna go to Elysium, go upstream. Just be careful, the way between planes is kinda rough going."

"How so?"

"There's rapids you have to travel. Not a problem for us river dragons, but for you landwalkers it can be dangerous."

"I see. And if I go to one of these other...planes...I might find a way home?"

"Maybe! I dunno a lot about where the other planes go. Just what's on the river."

Around that time, the beef seemed to be done enough, and Valerie took it off the skewer. She cut it in half, and tossed a piece to Splish. He caught it, chewed it. "Mmm! That's really good!" Valerie ate her own piece, and nodded. "It is. It's been a while since I had beef."

"Is that what it is? What does a beef look like?"

Valerie laughed. "The animals aren't called beef, just their meat. They're...I dunno, I guess you could call 'em cows? They have four legs and a thin, limp tail and a kind of short, square snout. The males have big horns on their heads."

Splish scratched at his side. "I don't remember seeing one. But if they taste like this, I'll have to look more for them!"

Valerie set to cooking another piece, and Splish asked "How do you make the fire from rocks?"

"It takes a special kind of rock. We call it flint. I seem to remember if you can find chalk, you can find flint."

"What's chalk?"

"It's...like a white, powdery rock. The flint is a grey rock inside it."

"Okay! And you just beat the flint rocks together?"

"Well...I think you need some metal. See?" She took out the tinderbox and showed Splish the bit of steel.

"Oh. I think I've seen some of that before. Landwalkers make things with it, right?"

"Right. If you can find something, like a knife or an arrowhead, you could use that."

"And then you use wood, and what was that other stuff? Feathers?"

"No, wood shavings. Little thin flakes of wood."

"Ohhhh! Okay! And all that together makes fire! Thank you for teaching me the magic, Valerie! I wish I could teach you some of mine in return!"

"That's okay. So do any humans live in the Beastlands?"

"Maybe! I don't see them much. I see Elves more."

"The people with the pointed ears?"

"Yes! They can be nice, but mostly they stay on the land. My mother told me to watch out for the black ones, though. They're evil and like to trick you so they can kill you and sacrifice you to their spider-god!"

"Black-skinned elves that worship spiders. Right. So gods are real here?"

"Yes! Weren't they real where you came from?"

"I dunno. People said they were, but there wasn't any proof."

"Huh. Well, I know Bahamut is real. He's the good dragon god. So is Tiamat. She's the bad dragon god."

"So are there other kinds of dragons?"

"Oh yes, lots! There's red dragons, and green dragons, and blue dragons, and gold dragons, and silver dragons, there's the beast dragons who live here on the land, and the arboreal dragons in Arborea." Splish gave another honking laugh, "And there's Elysian dragons too! They're funny!"

"So lots of dragons. I guess not all are as nice as you?"

"No, the red and green and blue and black and white dragons are all bad. They all follow Tiamat. But the gold and silver and copper and brass and bronze dragons, they're all good. They follow Bahamut, like us river dragons do. Well, us Oceanus river dragons. The Styx river dragons are bad."

"Where is the Styx river?"

"It's down on the Lower Planes. They're all bad places where bad creatures called fiends live. Sometimes they try and come here to the Upper Planes and cause trouble. But us river dragons, we help the celestials fight them off!"

"What are celestials?"

"They're all the good beings who live on the Upper Planes. The Angels, the Guardinals, the Eladrin."

Valerie divvied up more steak with Splish as he told her about these things, and sat back to keep cooking and thinking it all over. "This place is very different from my home. We don't have all these plane places like you do."

"There's a lot more places, too. Like the Elemental Planes. I'd like to see the Water one. I bet it's fun to swim and swim and swim like that."

"Can you breathe underwater?"

"Yes, our magic lets us do that. We can even use it to let landwalkers breathe water, too. But it's only for a little while."

"So why doesn't the sun move in the sky?"

"I dunno. It's just how the Beastlands are. My mother told me the other layers are like that, but the sun's in a different place. Or it's gone and it's all dark and this white thing called a moon and these really little white things called stars are there instead."

"I've seen those other...layers. I went through portals by accident, but I found one a while back and went through it on purpose to get here."

"That's good! I'm glad you did, so I could meet you, and learn about fire and beef!"

"Do you know anything about any other gods? Like Troll gods?"

"Nope. I know Elves have gods, and I think humans do too. I don't know much about Trolls. My mother said they were a kind of giant. I guess maybe there are giant gods?"

"I guess so." That seemed to confirm her suspicion about the dream she had of the world and what she now was sure were gods. "So if a god created you...do you go to that god when you die?"

"I think so. I'm not sure."

Valerie nodded, feeling a spark of hope. Maybe she wouldn't be doomed to end up in that awful place of her dreams. "Are there any other people you know of?"

"Yeah. There are Dwarves and Gnomes. The Gnomes have a plane beyond Elysium called Bytopia. My mother said the land is in the sky there."

"In the sky? What about underneath?"

"Oh, it's there too."

"So Dwarves are short people with beards that mine for things?"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"Lucky guess. We have stories back home about Dwarves and Elves, but they're just stories there."

"Oh. What about Gnomes?"

"I...think so. I'm not sure about them, really."

"My mother said Gnomes can be nice, but they can also play jokes if you're not careful. Just like the faeries in Arborea."

Valerie considered that. Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, faeries, dragons. Too many things of make-believe back home that were real here for her to not think there'd been at least some contact from this world and hers. That boded well for a way back and forth, but the fact it was a secret still made her concerned.

"So...I know this sounds silly, but what language are we speaking?"

"You don't know that either?" Splish laughed.

Valerie scowled, "No, I don't know a lot of things. It's just in my head and I don't know how it got there."

Splish ducked his head, seeming contrite. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad."

Valerie took a deep breath and sighed. "No, I'm sorry, Splish. I shouldn't get mad at you like that."

The young dragon bobbed his head, "It's okay. Hey, I can help you calm down!"

Valerie gave him a puzzled look, "How's that?"

Splish drew in a deep breath then, and when he exhaled, a strange mist came pouring out of his mouth, flowing over her. She felt a curious sensation of swimmy-headed lightness, and a tranquility. It reminded her of a time several years back when she'd tried pot. The sensation only lasted a few moments, and it was gone.

"What the Hell was that??" she asked, surprised. Splish said, "One of my breath weapons. We river dragons can breathe a special gas that makes things peaceful. It's better to stop fights if we can." Valerie nodded, and suddenly thought of the old cartoon, Puff the Magic Dragon. Once that came to mind, she began to laugh.

Splish turned his head sideways, "What's so funny?" he asked. It took Valerie a while before she could calm enough to say, "Sorry, I just thought of a story from back home about a dragon, and you reminded me of it." Splish replied, "Oh. Well, it sounds like a good story, if it makes you laugh!"

"It does. And I'm very grateful to have something to laugh about. You don't know how much it means to me that I can sit here and talk to you. I've been so lonesome wandering around here, in the Beastlands."

"You're welcome, Valerie! Oh! This language is Celestial."

"It is?" She thought for a moment, and tried the one she'd spoken with the Elves. "What about this one?"

Splish gave her a confused tilt of his head. "I've never heard that one before." He then spoke in a different tongue she didn't understand, and when she told him so, he said "That's the Draconic tongue." Then spoke another, that he identified as Aquan. "That's what water elementals speak."

Sharing more food, Valerie soon began to get full, and sleepy. She had learned a lot talking with the young dragon, but also realized there was far more still to discover. She yawned, and Splish looked at her curiously. "Do you need to sleep?" She nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"Okay! I'll go sleep too. Have a good sleep, Valerie! I hope I see you when I wake!" The dragon bobbed his head again, then turned and waded into the river before making a plunge, then splashing up a final time and submerging. Valerie shook her head in wonder and wrapped up the rest of her meat before settling down to rest.

When she awoke, she tended the embers of her fire, kindling them back to life, then began cooking more of the beef. As she laid pieces aside and skewered more, the water of the river rippled and Splish's head jutted forth. He gave a broad smile and swam sinuously to shore, calling "Hello Valerie! Did you rest well?"

She smiled to see the cheery young dragon and replied, "I did, thanks. You?" Splish waded onto shore, bobbing his head. "Yes! I dreamt of tasty fish that were like the beef!" Valerie laughed to think of beef-fish, and said "Here, have some more." She tossed a piece his way, and he snatched it from the air.

"Thank you!" he said once it had been chewed and swallowed. She had a piece of her own, as Splish tilted his head to one side. "Can you cook fish like you do beef?" She nodded, "Yes, you can cook all kinds of meat." Splish bobbed his head, "I want to try a cooked fish sometime!"

Valerie looked again at the things on Splish's back, and asked, "Are those wings? Can you fly?" Splish regarded them, "Yes, they are! But I'm not very good at flying. Mother says I should practice more, but swimming is so much easier." Valerie nodded, "Do you still stay close to your mother?"

Splish held his head up, "Only sometimes! I am growing up and soon I will have to find a place to call my own and protect!" Valerie smiled, and asked "What about your father?" Splish said, "I don't know him. Mother told me about him! He is a very brave and strong dragon! He once fought off a powerful demon all on his own!"

It was obvious to her Splish thought highly of that, and the excited way he said "When I am fully grown, I want to be brave and strong like him!" just confirmed it. Valerie chuckled and tossed another piece of meat to him, chewing on her own. "How long until you're grown?"

"We dragons grow our whole lives! But if you mean until I am mating age, that's not for another forty years. I will be ready, though! I will make a good lair and show what a good mate I can be!" The young dragon drew himself up proudly and preened in the sunlight.

"How long do dragons live?"

"Oh, mother says we can live past a thousand years! Some live much, much longer than that! But eventually the twilight comes and we must pass on. I am not afraid, though. I know Bahamut will take me into his home when my time is through."

"So did Bahamut make the dragons?"

"Oh, no! Io, the Ninefold, made the first dragons. Bahamut and Tiamat are his children. He charged them to rule over the dragons in his stead, but Tiamat was jealous and wanted all dragonkind to worship her. That is why the dragons make war with each other to this day."

"Huh. Do you know anything about other gods?"

"Not very much. I know Elves and Dwarves and Gnomes all have their own gods, and there are gods humans worship, but I don't think there are any humans-only gods. Even Bahamut is not just for dragons. Other beings who believe in his principles worship him too!"

"I see. So, can you tell me more about magic? Where does it come from? How does it work?"

"Mother told me some magic is just part of the world, and those who study it can learn to use it. Some are born with a natural talent. That's called sorcery, she said. Many dragons have sorcerous magic. Another kind, one you learn, is called wizardry. And another kind is given to those who worship the gods. That's divine magic."

"So people who worship the gods can be given magic. Makes sense, it'd be a good way to get believers. Gods want believers, right?"

"Oh, yes! Mother said some are very greedy for them, like Tiamat! Others don't care as much, like Io. But Io is very powerful, he does not need worshippers like less powerful gods do."

The notion of gods competing for worshippers mulled around in her mind as she cooked and ate, shared her meat with Splish. It made sense, even if it all seemed like make-believe, despite living talking proof of the fantastic right before her. She had her fill of breakfast soon, and packed up the leftovers.

Splish rose, "Are you going to travel now?" Valerie nodded, "Yes." Splish said, "I will swim along with you, if that's alright." Valerie smiled, "Of course, Splish." The young dragon wriggled and hopped around in excitement, "This will be fun!" he said, before going back into the water.

Once she had her things gathered, Valerie set out along the shore. Splish kept pace with her, though sometimes he would drop back and catch a fish, showing them to her, or race ahead. Sometimes he would challenge her to race him to the next big rock, or a tree. He was faster in the water than she was on land, but she enjoyed seeing how much it pleased him to play simple games like that with her.

Truthfully, she welcomed the distraction, too. It was strange to think of the playful and cheery young dragon as a friend, but he was. A very welcome one. She stopped to make camp, and Splish brought a particularly large fish out from the river. "Can we cook and eat this one? I think it will be very tasty!"

"Alright." agreed Valerie, and she considered how best to do it. "Can you find a big, flat rock, Splish? One from the river? I think that'll work best for cooking it." Splish bobbed his head, "I will look!" He went into the water, while Valerie got the fire going and cooked the last few pieces of beef. Splish had quite the appetite too, and she'd gone through it faster than she'd expected to.

Splish returned shortly, carrying a rock like she'd described in his mouth. He set it down, "Will this do?" Valerie nodded, "I think so. Let's dry it off first." She rubbed it with her sleeping fur gently, making sure no stray hairs stuck to it, then set it close to the fire. Once it was fully dry, she gingerly handled it, giving herself a small burn of the fingers.

However, it healed up in moments, so she handled it more confidently. It stung, but as with all pain she'd encountered so far, it was temporary. With Splish's help, she stacked a few rocks up to place it on, over the fire. Then she cut the head, tail and fins from the fish, tossing them to Splish. "It should cook easier when we cut it up."

Splish nodded, and watched her work. "Your claws are very sharp, Valerie! I wish mine were so sharp!" She said, "It's funny, I don't really think about it. But they are." She took a stray rock, poked her claw into it, and easily cut it in two like it was just a bit of soft dirt.

"Wow!" marveled Splish, then he settled down to watch the fish cook. It wasn't long before the sliced sections were starting to sizzle, and he beamed as he sniffed them, "Oh, they smell so good!" He wriggled with excitement. "Are they done?" She looked at them, "Almost."

Several moments passed. "What about now?" She shook her head, "Not yet." Several more moments passed, and he again asked "Now?" She laughed, "No, we're not there yet." He gave her a confused look, then honked with laughter. "I see! Mother says I must be patient! But it's hard when the fish smells so good!"

Valerie was hungry too, and after poking at a piece and seeing the white flesh flake, said "Alright, that's good enough." She plucked one up and popped it in her mouth, tossed one to Splish. He ate it with relish, "It's very good! I will have to cook more fish in future!"

Valerie nodded and had another piece, then focused on finishing off the beef while she let Splish have the rest of the cooked fish. Once it was all done she cleaned off the rock in the river, though Splish insisted on 'helping' by licking it once it had cooled enough for him to do so. She laughed, glad again for the dragon's company.

The two parted to rest, and the next morning Splish brought out more fish to cook. Once they'd feasted, she resumed her travels, stopping again to camp, cook and rest. Splish asked her about her home, her family, and she told him what she could.

He marveled at the 'strange magic' she described, though the idea of doing some of the things they did wasn't so alien to him. Flying, or being able to send and view images and sounds over long distances. The idea of basketball made him smile, and he wished she could show him, but she had no ball to use.

They traveled together for a couple more days in this fashion, until midway into the third day, the river course was widening further and further, and...they came to the Oceanus. Valerie had seen pictures of large rivers before, but she'd never been to one this huge in person. It flowed, pristine and deep, through the land.

While she marveled at its width, Splish took off, showing her how fast her could go from shore to shore. He swam all about, then dived down. Several minutes passed, and he returned, seeming muted somehow. "What's wrong?" she asked, surprised to see him looking sad.

"I have to go. Mother left the signal rock in the special place. That means I need to see her." Valerie felt a pang then, and asked, "You mean...upriver?" Splish nodded. Valerie said, "I see." Splish said, "But I'll come find you when I'm done, I promise! I really like traveling with you, Valerie!"

She smiled, "I like traveling with you too, Splish. It means a lot to have a friend." Splish beamed, and came up, tucking his head up under her chin and rubbing his scaly, slightly oily head there. "I am glad we are friends, Valerie. You have been very good to me. No matter what anyone says, I will always say 'Not all Trolls are bad' thanks to you."

Valerie nodded, and put an arm gently around the affectionate little dragon. The gesture made him start, but he quickly took its meaning and pressed firmly against her. She felt a sadness fill her, but resolved not to show it and upset him. Instead she smiled when she withdrew, and said "You stay safe, Splish. Be good and mind your mother."

Splish nodded and gave her another playful bump under the chin, "I will! Thank you for all you shared with me, Valerie! I hope I will see you again soon! If I do not, I will pray to Bahamut you find your home and family again." Valerie gave him another pat along his neck, "Thank you for all you shared, Splish."

With that, the dragon withdrew to the water, and looked back as he swam upstream, "Good-bye, Valerie!" he called. She raised a hand, "Good-bye, Splish!" She watched him swim until he was out of sight, and wept a few tears as she found herself alone once more.

Then she drew a deep breath, sighed, and turned to resume following the river course again. Her progress was slow, as she kept looking at the water, expecting Splish to pop up at any moment. He didn't, though. It was just her and the expanse of the Beastlands once more.

A dinner of mostly-uncooked fish led to difficulty going to sleep, as she found herself missing the little dragon. But exhaustion soon took her away, and she awoke the next morning. Sadness rose anew when Splish was not there, but she forced herself to push it aside. He had his own life to live, and she had a home to get back to.

However, part of her hoped he wouldn't be the last friend she made, if she was going to be stuck here for a long time. Several days passed, the lack of the dragon's presence dulled, but she still felt that loneliness again more acutely, like a wound freshly re-opened.

Growing tired of fish, Valerie moved further inland from the river when she came to a more open plains area between the forest cover. She found a game trail and followed, hoping to locate some other kind of meat to hunt. She caught the scent of wild pig, and the thought of roasting some pork livened her step.

Ahead, she spied her quarry, foraging among the grasses. Drawing a spear, she prepared to throw, when the ground under the pig burst asunder and a large set of mandibles grabbed it. She saw an insectile head, the pig squealing as it thrashed in vain before disappearing into the ground.

She rushed up to find a large hole disappearing down into a tunnel. "What the Hell?" she murmured. Below, a long dark shape scuttled. A huge insect, covered in a dark brown carapace, paused to look up at her. She started to back off, before it seemed to draw itself up, and from its mouth spewed a yellowish fluid at her!

She dodged to the side, but still it spattered upon her skin, burning with an acrid odor. She snarled and hurled her spear down at it, wounding the creature. Strangely, she noticed the burn wasn't healing up. But she had no time to really contemplate it as the insect rushed up the tunnel at her, jaws working those mandibles.

She dodged its attack nimbly, answering with her claws. two swift blows felling it to the ground. She recovered her spear and grimaced. "Shit! The Hell did it spit at me?" She could still smell that sharp odor and was reminded of a mix between vomit and chemistry class in high school. "Some kind of acid?" she wondered.

Concerned, she returned back to the water and washed the burn off as best she could. Having gotten used to healing up in seconds to a minute or two from any injury, to have one persist like this was strange and a little scary. It didn't seem very severe, but it made her realize she wasn't quite as unstoppable as she thought she was.

She wished she had some kind of bandage to wrap it up with, but the best she could do was keep it clean and try to make sure it didn't get infected or anything. Deciding weird acid-spitting bugs were better off left alone, she went downstream further and fished once again rather than range away to hunt.

Making camp and resting, the next morning her injury felt better, though still a little raw and irritated. She washed it carefully again before she set out once more. Down the riverside she went, pausing in her travel to kill a deer. Venison wasn't pork, but it sure as Hell wasn't fish. She welcomed the change in diet.

A few days later, all sign of her acid burn was gone, just the lingering memory. As she traveled, she kept an eye out for her little friend Splish, but no sign had been forthcoming. She hoped he was safe and well. She would smile to think of his antics, especially when she cooked on her flat rock 'grill'.

She awoke in the middle of her sleep to a loud rustling sound, like something shaking a bush. She looked around, and spotted a tall, vine-like plant nearby that hadn't been there when she laid down to sleep. It was shifting and writhing on its own, with what looked like clusters of grapes growing upon it.

She got to her feet, unsure what to make of it, when suddenly, all around her, grasses and other flora shot up to grab at her, trying to tangle her, wrapping about. One of the vines of the strange plant lashed out like a whip at her, but she managed to avoid it, struggling to break free from its grip.

It held fast to her, lashing out again and striking her with that tendril. It struck and wrapped it around, squeezing tightly. She drew out the fury inside herself, trying to break the tendril's grip, get free of the vines grabbing at her feet. She succeeded, but they tried to grab her once more.

This time she avoided them, but the vine slashed at her again, grabbing and squeezing. Her struggles to escape caused it to constrict further, but she finally got loose and advanced on it as quick as she could through the grabbing tendrils of plants from the ground.

It lashed out again as she drew close, but she dodged it and prepared to try and mulch the foul overgrown weed. It tried to whip her with its tendril again, grab hold of her, but she avoided them all once more before giving a loud roar, lashing out with her own green limbs.

Claws and teeth tore into the frustrating plant, until its movement stilled and the plants around it returned to their normal state. She crouched down, catching her breath and recovering, studying the strange bush. "Even the plants are dangerous." she muttered with annoyance. Idly she fingered one of its fruits, but decided against trying it.

"Probably poisonous." she opined as she settled down to rest once more. Continuing her travels, by her estimation it had been nearly two weeks since she last saw Splish. She had to assume the little dragon was busy with other things. She had hoped he might keep his word to find her, but he was obviously young still.

"Easy promises broken the same." She didn't seem any closer to getting to these planes he'd mentioned, but the scenery was changing, at least. The land was much flatter and more open here, with branches sprawling away from the river into wet, swampy regions.

She thought of her early encounters with the crocodile and the bat-squito things, and kept a close eye out for any potentially wallowing reptiles or lairs of blood-sucking monsters. None of those were forthcoming, so she kept her pace through the marsh, finding a nice dry place to make camp and rest.

She awoke to hear a splashing sound, and her heart leapt. Was it Splish?? She rose quickly to see a large shape that was most definitely not him. A heavy four-legged brute was there in the nearby shallows, a gray-brown hide covering its twenty-foot body. A long tail drug back into the water behind it, but what as most striking were the heads.

Five in number on long necks, each sporting mouths full of needle-like teeth, one was busy devouring half of a fish. Another chanced to look her way, then the other four quickly followed suit. "Shit." she muttered. With a chorus of low growling hisses it lumbered forward, those heads all lashing out at her and biting away.

While she managed to avoid or fend off four of them, the fifth latched on and gave her a savage wound. She gave a cry of pain, then snarled as she stepped in, unleashing her rage to strike back, driving in her first claw with that tensing snap of her arm. She tore into the creature, but she saw its wounds beginning to heal almost immediately.

"Shit." she muttered, fearing this thing would be next to un-killable like she was. The cluster of heads came in to bite once more, this time scoring two more tears in her flesh. She ripped at it anew with claws and teeth, but it remained standing, still trying to tear her to bits with all those teeth.

Three heads bit into her, and she was beginning to feel weak. But she threw herself into it once more, failing to find purchase with her teeth. The creature cried out and started to topple, but at the last second roused itself for another assault.

Two heads dug in and she felt in danger of collapsing. Digging deep, she made what might be her final effort to slay it, tearing into its torso, yanking out any bits of gore she could. At last, the creature could take no more and tottered over, thumping into the wet ground and splashing her with water and mud.

Covered in blood, hers and the creature's, she slumped down to the ground, panting heavily. As she felt her own wounds heal, she watched the creature. Its injuries had stopped regenerating. Whatever the reason, it was dead. She drug herself up and half-walked, half-crawled to the water, sliding in and submerging.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the muted quiet and darkness, then worked her hands all over, washing herself clean. Surfacing, she walked back to shore, settled on her fur and relaxed in the warm sunshine, drying herself off as she finished recuperating from her battle.

She could swear she'd heard of something like that multi-headed thing in myth and legend, but its name escaped her. Well, its name was Big Ugly Dead Thing now, far as she was concerned. She considered trying it to see if it was any good, but decided to stick with what she knew.

Rising once again, she gathered her things and resumed her trek, deeper into the Beastlands. A chance kill of a large wading bird brought some welcome variance to her diet later when she again made camp, before settling in to rest once more.


	5. Game of Thorns

The forest whipped by around her in a smooth flow, sun-dappled brush and trees blurring. She was hunting, seeking. Her prey was close, this way? No, that way. Excitement built when she homed in, saw it there in the glade. A fine young buck, grazing, unaware.

She was on him in a flash. A brief tussle, the scent of blood, the joy of a successful kill, followed by feasting. The meat was succulent and plentiful. As she dined, she became aware of a new presence. Her head snapped up, to spy...a unicorn?

Shining white coat with flowing mane and fetlocks, a spiral silver horn emerging from its forehead, delicate curls of a goatish beard from its chin. It regarded her with calm eyes, bearing regal and unafraid. It approached, nickered softly, then bent its head. She felt the horn touch her shoulder.

A sensation of peace and calm like she hadn't felt since arriving washed over her. She felt invigorated by it, even as she took solace in that tranquility. She drifted within that silent reflection for what seemed like ages, before the unicorn withdrew. It turned to walk away, its tail waving behind it. A beautiful voice spoke in soothing tones.

"All things may dwell in harmony with nature, no matter their origins."

Valerie awoke, feeling that exertion burn in her muscles again. She sat up, looked around. Still the same riverside camp she'd made, same warm eternal sunshine in the sky. The clarity and serenity of the dream was mostly faded, yet she still felt a degree of centering in herself, an awareness of the world around her.

While she took up a spear to check herself against - yes, it appeared she'd grown yet again - she considered the implications of her dream. It seemed to be another message, but not from anything like the being she'd dreamt of previously. Maybe there was hope after all?

She wouldn't be bound to that foul monster's domain if the worst happened before she could get home? "I sure hope so." she told herself as she settled to dine on the remnants of her last meal. Soon after, she broke camp to resume her travels. "I spend too much more time here, I'll be a champion marathoner."

Her energy levels seemed to keep rising over time. She assumed it had to do with her continual growth. She guessed she'd gained a foot in height over the last...two months? that she'd been here. "It'll be Thanksgiving soon back home. Mom, Dad, Aunt Marie, Uncle Jason."

Feasting on turkey and all the side dishes, being torn between trying to watch football and clean up all the mess, having cousins drop by to steal leftovers and help themselves to free booze, listening to Aunt Marie drone on about all the great sales deals this year while Uncle Jason gripes about commercialism and the government...

"And I'd fight a hundred of those freaky multi-headed things if it'd get me home for it." Thankfully she found sign of no more of them, but she did locate the spoor of a deer. It was little trouble to track, stalk and kill it, after which she dressed it and packed the meat up in its hide. She'd gotten halfway decent at fashioning makeshift bundles.

She knew there were ways to tan and preserve hides, but she had no clue what to do besides scrape the inner hide clean. "Not like I keep them for very long anyways." Her kills usually didn't last for more than a few days. She'd just get another one with the next and keep up the cycle.

"Wonder what comes along and eats them?" She laughed then as she pictured a weird two-legged tailed creature with a vacuum cleaner attachment for a nose, walking along making a loud whirring noise as it picked up discarded bits of her kills. "Wouldn't be surprised, with the crazy shit I've seen around here."

Even Splish, as charming as he was, seemed crazy compared to anything back home. She thought then of stories of the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. "Maybe they're things that slipped through from this world?" It would make sense. Or that weird thing they said lived in Mexico, Chalupa-something.

Several days passed as she continued down the river, moving away from the marshland back into more dense forested land. One day, while pursuing a fleeing pig up into the woods, she caught the scent of blood and decay on the wind. After finishing her hunt, she decided to investigate.

It wasn't long before she arrived at a clearing, with the remains of a camp. She found four fallen tents arranged around a campfire, and within the open space, the bodies of what seemed to be a dozen dead Elves. Most reminded her of the ones she'd seen weeks ago, dressed in leathers, armed with swords and bows.

Two were dressed in robes, a third dressed in that finely made mail armor she'd seen. While she had plenty of experience with dead animals the last couple of months, these were her first dead humanoids outside of the made-up, preserved funereal dead of back home.

Even if she was aware of her own changed shape and appearance, she still thought of herself as human, inside, where it mattered. And seeing all the dead strewn about was disturbing to her. She wondered too what killed them, for they looked like they'd been covered in some kind of giant pine needles.

She approached one, bent down and fingered at one of the long thin objects. She plucked it from the Elf's flesh. It had been driven in at least a couple inches somehow. It was fairly sturdy for being so slim, and pricking her finger against the tip, it seemed pretty sharp. If it had been delivered with force, she wasn't surprised they could be lethal.

As she studied it, she heard a faint rustling noise around her. At first, it seemed like the sound of wind in the leaves. But when she listened more closely, it almost sounded like whispered conversation. She stood and looked all around. Only trees and brush met her gaze.

Suddenly the air was filled with a series of whistling noises and hundreds of those thin, sharp quills rained down on her from all sides! She gave a cry of surprise and tried to duck, shield herself, but many of them pricked at her hide. Fortunately, she was naturally well-armored, so only a handful caused her any actual injury.

Looking about swiftly, Valerie saw the source. Or rather, sources. Surrounding her on all sides were bizarre green bipedal beings. Humanoid in shape but thin and insectile in appearance, they all had forests of those long needle-like quills on their upper limbs and body. They regarded her with cold, alien eyes, perched motionless on the edges of the clearing.

She counted a dozen or more, broken into groups in the four cardinal directions. Guessing they were the death of the Elves and intended to be the same for her, she wasted no time calling forth her fury and rushing up to one group, taking a swipe at the first one she could reach.

Her claws dug into its flesh, but instead of blood, she drew a clear, faintly sticky substance that smelled strongly of plant matter. It turned to flee, but before it could escape, she struck it down. The others nearby stepped away from her, their arms swiping forward, while those behind advanced closer and did likewise.

Another massive volley of needles flew, pelting her with hundreds of sharp pricking sensations. The minor injury she took healed instantly while she continued her assault. Another one was wounded, as was she by their next volley. But her regenerative ability was working on it while she finished off the second of the bizarre beings.

In complete silence they continued their murderous attacks, this time causing her considerable pain as many attacks penetrated her hide. She gave a loud roar and swatted at a third, injuring it while the rain of needles continued, causing more injury.

A third fell before the next volley, causing more pain. They were outpacing her ability to heal, the wounds piling up, wearing her down. But she wasn't about to give up as she went after a fourth, a fresh volley only causing minor injury that she recovered from, fighting through the pain to finish off the fourth.

They were still surrounding her, leading her in a circle, keeping their distance from one another to insure no more than one at a time would be within her reach. It was a slow, harrowing fight. No wonder the Elves had all ended up dead. Another volley caused minor injury, keeping her from recovering further.

She went after a fifth, injuring it, before the next needle assault came. More wounds, slowly wearing her down, but her rage carried her forward to finish off the fifth under the fire of another hail of needles. Yet more injury, threatening her ability to stay upright.

She pursued a sixth, damaging it before another volley slammed into her, causing her to slump down and black out momentarily. She rallied to swat down the sixth of the strange beings before a last volley put her out cold. When she came to, she was still in considerable pain, but looking around, she didn't immediately see the insectile things.

While she lay there, healing up, she did eventually spy one there in the border of the grove. While immobile, they were very difficult to notice. That's probably what let them ambush the Elves so easily. Why, she had no clue. There was no malice in their actions, just a cold destructive behavior, like they were exterminating some vermin.

She did know this: they weren't getting away with it. Once she felt recovered from her post-fight fatigue and all the injuries they'd dealt, the needles pushed out of her skin in a very curious series of itchy, tickling sensations, she rose from the ground. She had noticed her rage, while it gave her power, made her more susceptible to being hit.

Faced with such a large number of enemies, it was probably smarter to keep it held back, even if she could dig down and release it once more. She wasn't killing them with one blow anyways. Around her she heard the rustling again and she sneered, "C'mon, you ugly bug-plant bastards."

She closed the distance to strike her first target, wounding it. Again they moved to encircle her, firing their needles. None managed to land a clean hit while she advanced to make her first kill. A fresh swarm of needles brought a minor wound while she wounded a second, then another injury as her second kill was made.

Still more needles rained upon her, the number of them reducing as she steadily pursued the alien things. Another injury from their latest volley disappeared almost instantaneously when she attacked a third, injuring it. Their next assault failed to harm her, letting her recover from their wounds completely as she took down a third.

Another swarm pelted her harmlessly while she took on her fourth, then another failed assault as she advanced, but missed her kill thanks to stumbling over one of the fallen tents. Giving a snarl of annoyance, she took another wound from their next attack before finishing off the fourth.

By her count, ten more remained now. They continued their barrage, unable to keep her from recovering fully again while she hurt a fifth. Again she was pelted harmlessly while taking out the fifth, nor was she injured while going after the sixth. But she stumbled once more upon the remains of the dead, her blow going wild.

But even with that misstep, she kept dodging as many shots as she could, the others bouncing from her rubbery hide, while she stepped up to land one blow against a sixth, then rip its ugly insectile face open in a spray of fluid with a follow-up.

She gave a snarl of triumph at that, and grinned savagely at the cold, detached response of the remaining eight. "Not long now!" she called, as their attacks continued raining harmlessly upon her. Invigorated by her brutal kill, she rushed onto a seventh and tore its midsection open, dropping it with one blow.

Her guttural laugh echoed amidst the continuing whistle of flying needles, now diminished with their number. Unperturbed, their attacks continued with a mechanical mindlessness. If she hadn't seen the fluid dump out of them and felt the organic consistency of their flesh, she'd have thought they were machines, not plant-bugs.

She bore their assault with the same ease, moving on the eighth to hurt it, ignoring another fruitless volley while her claws tore her newest target's arm asunder, sending it falling in a spray of whatever passed for blood in these things from the stump.

Finally she took another wound, but it vanished almost immediately while she moved on her ninth to tear its midsection open in a single blow as well. She just smiled grimly at her methodical slaughter of the hideous things, another minor wound taken that vanished like its predecessor in her movement to the tenth.

Wounding it, she shrugged off the diminishing barrage before finishing it. The eleventh fell in similar fashion, and she took another wound that lingered in her attack on the twelfth. They failed to follow through as she healed up, downing the twelfth and smirking at the remaining pair. Victory was imminent.

That didn't stop one of them from hitting her with another lingering wound, nor did it stop her from advancing and tearing it apart while the injury regenerated. "And then there was one!" she yelled at the final enemy. It tried its best, but she weathered its needles while landing the last two blows needed to finish it off like all the rest.

Standing there, looking at all the dead around her, Valerie took a deep breath and sighed. The death of all these whatever-they-weres seemed as pointless as the death of the Elves. She wished she could understand why, but that wasn't going to happen any sooner than wishing herself back home was.

Instead, she set about grabbing up the dead plant-bugs and tossing their carcasses out into the woods. Then she went among the dead Elves, feeling a little weird about searching their corpses for anything useful. She found a fairly nice dagger that would make a good substitute for her older knife, and collected a couple of their backpacks to use.

She considered trying her hand at their bows, but felt comfortable using her spears. She did wonder how well she might be able to use their arrows. Taking one up, she held it like a dart and gave it a toss. Surprisingly, it flew nice and straight right into a tree with a satisfying little thunk. "Hm. Maybe I'll just take these."

She gathered up a few quivers' worth to keep as a backup in case she ran out of spears again. Not finding anything else that seemed worth keeping on the dead, she gathered them together, laying them out in a row, then disassembled three of the tents to take and lay over their bodies.

She wished she could give them a better burial, but lack of tools for the job made this seem like a more agreeable option. She gathered some bits of wood and rocks to lay on the edges, keep any stray breezes from blowing the heavy cloth away, and stood there before the mass of them.

"I'm sorry you had to die at the hands of those...things. I didn't mean to get involved, but they're dead now too, so I guess you've been avenged. I hope that helps you find peace, if any of you were still restless about that. Thanks for these things I've taken, I promise they'll see good use."

She gathered up the remaining tent, packed it away in one of her new packs, then set out once again into the Beastlands. When she stopped to make camp, it took her a little work to get the tent set up properly, but she managed. Cooking her dinner, then crawling inside the tent onto her fur to sleep almost felt like a memory of home.

Camping trips in the summer, with Scouts or with her family, sitting around the fire and listening to ghost stories. She certainly had a new respect for being out in the wilderness now. "If I ever get back home, I'm taking a damn survival course. Count on it." she resolved, then yawned widely before settling down to sleep.


	6. Destroyer's Wrath

She heard the sound of conversation, laughter. She turned to see silhouettes moving through a blue curtain. Drifting forward, the curtain parted to reveal a gathering of some kind. Within an open-air chamber lit with gentle blue-burning torches, numerous Elves milled around, talking, smiling, sharing food and drink gathered from a nearby table.

All were dressed in fine clothing, merry and content in their revelry. Beyond the pillars of the open side of the chamber, she saw a balcony, starlit skies and a gibbous moon hanging there. Looking at the Elves, she could swear they were familiar. From the campsite? They were twelve in number, just like the dead.

She couldn't understand what they said, it was all in what she presumed was their language. They went about, ignorant of her observation. Then, as one they looked to a new voice, and gave greetings. An exceptionally handsome blond-haired Elf man arrived, walking among them as they showed him deference.

He spoke to each in turn, and she got the impression he was playing host to them, making sure they were enjoying this gathering. Finally, he approached to look right at her. "My thanks for helping bring them peace. In return, I offer a warning. The Destroyer is coming. Be ready."

Valerie awoke then, feeling that surging burn in her muscles that always accompanied a fresh spurt of growth. She groaned, stretched, climbed from her tent into the ever-present sun to really work her limbs while contemplating this latest dream. It seemed her actions won her a nod from some Elven deity.

"The Destroyer is coming." she echoed his words, and sighed. "Way to be cryptic." she grumbled, setting about breaking her fast, then camp. She felt stronger today, and as she handled her things noticed her claws seemed to have grown even larger in proportion to her hands.

Not so large they really got in the way, but she did have to be more careful of poking holes in things. They were more like talons now, she supposed. Once she was loaded up she set off downriver once more. "Strange how this almost seems normal." she remarked to herself. "Like some kind of fantasy backpacking trip."

She had a couple friends from high school who'd talked about doing that, going backpacking across Europe. They never did, but it seemed like a fun adventure to have. Life had different plans in store for her, and now...she had no idea where this was going to end up. Home eventually, she hoped.

Maybe the Elves in Arborea could help her somehow. If they couldn't get her there, they'd know someone who could. That was what passed for a plan while she focused on the day-to-day of survival. "Feel like I've done more walking since I got here than I did my whole life back home." What she'd give for a dirt bike!

"I'd probably break it if I tried to sit on it." She had a notion she'd grown heavier, but overall she didn't really feel it. More a greater sense of...inertia, she supposed. But she had better control over that, too. She was fast, she was tough, and she could fight. All she'd ever done back home was take a couple of basic self-defense courses.

"If not for the fact I'm uglier than a hat full of assholes, I'd almost say I enjoy it." She smirked to think of her Uncle Jason again, and one of his favorite colloquialisms. And right on its heels a fresh pang of homesickness. But she endured it, as she did everything else. She had little choice besides, alone here in the Beastlands.

In her day's walk, she chanced to see something she hadn't before: the mating of a pair of deer. The buck atop the doe, rutting away. She thought then of Tommy, and their intimate times. Perhaps most disturbing of all, the way it seemed so distant and detached to her. She hadn't felt any real sexual desire since arriving here. At all.

That was worrisome. If Trolls didn't feel physical desire like humans did, how did they reproduce? The notion of any activity involving something that looked like her repulsed her to her core. She just hoped she could find an answer to that question before unfortunate circumstances forced it onto her.

Thinking of their intimacy was bittersweet too, so she forced it from her mind and resumed her journey. Mostly she was lonely for company, she--wait. On the edge of her hearing, she thought...that high warbling sound again? She turned and strode in the direction. Yes, there it was again, just like when she'd found that doorway here.

She hadn't heard it since she last found that portal. She hadn't exactly been looking for them, and staying close to the river most of the time probably cut down on locating them. This one wasn't close to the river, so she doubted it led to the land of the Elves the way Splish had described.

"Better some chance than none." she told herself, when she came upon it. Again, like a heat shimmer there in midair. As she examined it, understanding came to her. A one-way door, unlocked. And it led to a starlit land of...giant mushrooms? That's what they looked like. Was that still somewhere in the Beastlands?

She contemplated trying it, but before she could make a decision, a flash of some black whiplike object in the corner of her eye had her leaping aside with instinctively fast reflexes, sharpened by her time here battling the creatures of this land. It scraped against her shoulder harmless as she turned to spy...what the fuck?

It looked like a big, six-legged panther with tentacles coming off its shoulders. Before she could really take in any further details, in snarled at her and spoke! "Death for Vaprak!" This was again in a language she hadn't heard before, the comprehension opening and expanding in her mind.

She had no time to contemplate that, as the hideous creature came forward in a fury of claws, teeth and tentacles at her. Only its claws managed to dig into her, but when they did, its limbs suddenly spasmed in a fierce tearing to rip her flesh open before releasing.

Valerie reached inside herself, finding that primal fury and letting it loose. When she did, she felt a curious new sensation, as if it were surging into her skin, not just lending her strength and vitality. But she couldn't think on it, now was the time to show this fugly thing what she thought of its death threats!

Her first blow snapped in, but whiffed past. The second...passed through it? How the Hell did that happen?? She lunged in to bite, tearing into its flesh, but it seemed hardened, somehow, a sensation she hadn't encountered in ages. She wounded it, but within moments the wound closed up and vanished.

It launched a fresh series of strikes, but save for a single clawing, they all skittered harmlessly off her. Her skin was like steel, turning the blows aside readily. The minor wound it gave her vanished and the earlier injuries were lessening as she responded in kind.

Again, her claws passed harmlessly through it, though a follow-up swipe struck, while her teeth failed to dig in. It was wounded, despite the toughness of its flesh, yet was beginning to heal as it attacked once more. This time one of its tentacles lashed her, raking her shoulder with the curved hooks upon its inner surface.

Her answering blows went through it again, same as her bite. It clawed her again, while she missed it once more, seeing its wounds healing up completely. Its tentacle lashed in to tear harshly at her throat, wounding her anew. It was slowly chipping at her defenses, this new protection her rage brought aiding greatly, but she was making little headway in turn.

She managed to swat it with her claws again, while its strikes fell ineffectually against her. She again missed with her claws, but her teeth landed another small wound. Its response was fruitless, while she bit it once more. It was slowly recovering, but at least it wasn't hurting her. Yet.

Luck suddenly seemed to turn in her favor as she managed to land strikes with both sets of claws and her teeth, making the beast roar in pain. She roared back in savage glee to see it properly bloodied, finally. It managed to claw at her once more, but the wound was minor. Emboldened, she launched herself at it once more.

But her blows failed to hit, as did it's. Frustration mounted alongside a growing desperation. Her fury would not last forever, and when it dropped, she feared this protection would as well. She would be far more vulnerable than it was. She tried to harm it once more, but failed again, while it whipped her with another tentacle rake.

Digging deep, she landed a blow that turned its head aside long enough to let her claws tear at its own throat. Her tearing bite was underscored with a ferocious growl. She'd hurt it good with this series of attacks! It was seriously wounded, but no less determined in trying to put her down.

It tore at her with a tentacle, but she threw herself once more into a frenzy of blows and sent it to the ground, unconscious. She kicked it over with her foot and thrust her hand down, grabbing at its throat. "Fuck you, Vaprak." she growled, as she tore the creature's neck open.

Its wounds ceased to heal, and she slumped to her knees while the rage left her. The hardened sensation in her skin fled as well. She had no idea what it was, but it seemed to have kept her safe from the creature's attacks. It had hurt her fairly well at the start, but once she let her primal fury loose, it couldn't manage to do more than minor harm.

"Shame I didn't have that when I fought all those plant-bugs." she mused to herself. Perhaps holding back her rage wasn't a good idea anymore. Regardless, the thing was finally dead. Looking at it more closely, she saw it was even more bizarre than she initially thought.

For one thing, its fur had a strange tendril-like quality to it, as did the shape of its nose. She thought of the sight of all those Trolls in her nightmare, the way their hair had the same appearance, so too the tips of their noses. Like the root of a vegetable, dangling in elephantine fashion.

Likewise, its front legs seemed longer than the other four. Was this some kind of troll-monster? It would make sense, if it was the Destroyer, or sent by it. Was Vaprak the Troll god's name? She wished she had someone to ask. Rising to her feet again, she gave the ugly thing another kick in a fit of pique before she considered the portal once more.

Through it, she saw no river. Knowing she wouldn't be able to come back through clinched her decision. Better to stay on the river's course. She knew where it would lead. No telling where this would take her. Turning away, she began following the waterway once more.

It wasn't long after that she was stopped to rest, having a drink of water, when the sound of something rustling in the air, like a sheet of fabric, caught her attention. She looked up to spy another horrible creature on the wing, flying in her direction. It had great batlike wings, a leonine body and a vaguely human head, albeit one twisted in trollish fashion.

Behind it a long muscular tail dragged, tipped with a forest of long, sharp-looking spines. "Oh, great." she groused, rising to her feet as it soared in. It roared out, "Death for Vaprak!" before its tail curled to snap forward, sending a volley of those sharp spikes at her! She dove aside, but two still managed to hit as the creature remained on the wing above her.

She unleashed her fury once more, pulling out a spear to launch at it. It scored a wound in the creature's side, which soared on past, throwing another volley of spikes. One managed to harm her, while her second toss missed entirely. It circled around, throwing another series of spikes, which failed to injure.

Her next throw struck it again, making it roar before it tossed another volley, the spikes on its tail seeming expended in the aftermath. Again it failed to wound her, while her final spear toss drew more blood. It turned then to dive down at her, landing and rearing up to claw at her.

It found no purchase on her tough hide, and the answering snapping strike of hers failed to land cleanly. Her second claw and her teeth did, causing the creature to lash its tail angrily before raking and snapping its maw at her once more. None of them struck, but her claws did, along with a particularly good tearing gnash of her teeth.

Its blows in reply were ineffectual, while two savage slashing blows from her talons sent it down, bleeding profusely and no longer healing its injuries. She gave a triumphant cry, throwing her arms wide, yelling "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT, DESTROYER?!?" while her opponent's blood was slung across the ground.

She gave another terrifying roar, the disjointed extension of her jaw clamping shut audibly before her rage fled and she sat down heavily, breathing hard. "Fuck. I'm almost starting to like this." she admitted, and laughed with a shake of her head as she looked at the ugly trollish monster's corpse.

Once she had recovered, she rose to wash herself off in the river, then set about locating her spears. It took her some time, as one had flown clear to the other side of the river, making her need to swim across. She placed her equipment in a tree and marked the trunk with an 'X' prior to her crossing, returning to finish recovering her things.

By now she was feeling quite tired, but she forced herself to travel downriver a bit longer, get away from the dead body of the flying monster, before making camp and settling in to rest. Was this Vaprak going to keep sending things after her? It'd complicate matters if he did, but as long as she didn't get overrun by a horde of creatures, she suspected she'd be alright.

Several days passed without further incident, while she continued to hunt and travel. After settling in her tent one day and drifting off to sleep, she awoke to a sudden terrible pain, a choking sensation in her throat. She had a fleeting image of a bloody hand and burning red eyes, before darkness overtook her once more.

Consciousness returned, and with it...pain. She felt the bark of a tree digging at her back, and burning agony in her shoulders, gut, knees and elbows. Trying to move just made it worse, and when she looked down at herself, she saw why. She'd been impaled to the trunk by a series of large metal spikes.

One in each shoulder, a third in her stomach, one in each knee and, near as she could tell, one in each elbow. When she cried out in her initial shock of sensation from all this, a deep, gravelly laugh was heard from behind. Into her vision stepped a Troll.

He stood at least a foot taller than her, with skin a purple-black color, those burning red eyes she saw before, gangly and long-armed with the tendril-like hair and nose of most Trolls. Oversized canines jutted from his lower jaw over his lips, while particularly long, sharp claws tipped his fingers.

He spoke in that language the Elves had used with her, "Fuck Vaprak? Hur, hur, hur, hur. Dun look that way t'me, wench. Ya wanna know what he's got fer ya? Yer 'bout ta find out!" With that, his claws lashed out in a blur, and with twin spikes of agony, the world went dark. She screamed in pain and fear, suddenly blind.

The Troll just laughed, then she heard a chewing sound. "Mmm! Tastes great! Wonder how the rest o'ye tastes?" Random spikes of pain struck as his claws tore at her body, and she felt her flesh ripped away, heard him chewing and swallowing with relish. "Lessee what yer innards is like!"

She was introduced then the sensation of being disemboweled, feeling organs pulled from inside her. She blacked out, only to re-awaken to fresh horrors as she learned how her body could regenerate from all manner of horrible things. Blindness, deafness, having her jaw torn asunder, tongue ripped out.

Her fingers, nose and toes bitten off, hands and feet broken and removed. Every organ she could imagine spilled from inside her and shown to her, even what she presumed were her reproductive parts. A whole world of torture opened before her, as he peeled the skin from her body, tweaked and twisted at every sensitive spot he could find, wrenching scream after scream from her.

Eventually, pain and exhaustion took her away from her tormentor, but she found no respite there. For in her dreams, she returned to that smoky cavern, to find Trolls waiting for her, seizing her and holding her down. And there, looming over her, seated upon a throne made of all manner of bones, was the Troll god.

"Thought you was smart, dincha? Thought you could say anything just cos you was alive?" He grabbed her head, forced her to look up at his hulking figure and those burning red eyes of his. "You're gonna learn your place now!" His savage leer exposed many sharp, misshapen teeth.

She felt something then. A strange warmth, deep inside her. Fear prickled inside her as she struggled to get free. It grew stronger, throbbing down in her guts. With a growing horror, she felt those pocketed folds between her legs growing moist, then the tickle of air against them as they drew aside, exposed the inner flesh.

"No. No, no, no, no NO NO NO NO!!!" she cried with increasing panic, to the Troll god's delight. "OH YES!" A musky odor was filling the air. She knew it was coming from her. She saw his nostrils flaring, and tried to look away when she saw the pouched fold between his own legs revealing a bestial organ.

Despite her terror and revulsion, some tiny part of her wanted to respond to the sight, the smell, and that shook her to her core. She shrieked in horror, thrashed as violently as she could, trying to escape. But the other Trolls held her down, turned her onto her back, forced her legs open.

Then, she was raped. Again and again the vile deity had his way with her, creating a whole new level of torment she hadn't imagined possible. Violated, made to feel helpless and used, she could get no relief until after what seemed an eternity, she was jolted awake.

The sensations of her...heat, she supposed was the only word for it...had fled, but the memory of the nightmare was fresh as her new day's tortures. She was introduced to a new torment. The Troll that had her captive somehow possessed blood that burned her skin like acid. He took great glee in cutting himself and splashing her with it.

Hours passed in a blur of torture. The only thing he seemed to care about was making her cry out from his violent treatment of her. And try as she might to avoid it, exhaustion eventually took her back to her horrible nightmares, where she was violated by Vaprak again and again.

She was given water, just enough to survive on, but she was denied food. It gnawed at her, she fought desperately to avoid begging when her tormentor ate before her, told her to beg him for some little morsel, some tidbit. When she wouldn't relent, he demonstrated how far her regeneration could go to save her.

He decapitated her. She saw her own body, growing thinner, caked in dried blood, pinned to the tree, missing its head as her own rolled to the ground. And when she regained consciousness, saw her own head staring up at her on the ground. He left it there, let her watch it rot and decay as the days passed.

How long she underwent this bit of Hell, she couldn't say. Days blended into weeks. Even the daily rainstorms lost their count to her as she fell into despair. She began to wish she could hurry up and starve to death so she could be free of it all, even if she still refused to say such things to those responsible.

As she hung there, her captor done with his regimen for the day and laid down to rest, fighting off sleep, she heard a rustling noise nearby. No animals had dared come close to them since this all began, so this was very unusual. She quickly saw something approach that was even stranger.

At first glance, it reminded her of a cross between some kind of giant bug and an armadillo. Colored a rusty brownish-red, its rounded, hunched back had a leathery, segmented look to it, while its four legs perched up high at its sides, giving it a strange insectile crawl of a gait.

Its head was very much bug-like, with two long feelers wafting up high over its head from the sides of its jaw. She was reminded of a close-up picture she saw of a moth once by them. A tail curved up behind it, ending in a flattened V-shaped fin of some kind. It was overall the size of a pony, and waddled in her direction, unafraid.

When it reached her, it waved those feelers about, touching at the metal spikes through her chest. Suddenly, they seemed to just...fall apart into dust! No, not dust; rust! Oxidized to powder in seconds, the remnants drifted down to the ground. The creature made an excited little trill as it started to...eat the rust?

If she didn't feel the sensation of the wounds from those metal spikes closing up, she'd have been sure she'd gone mad from pain and hunger. But it was very much real, as it followed suit with the other spikes in short order, destroying them and proceeding to devour the rust.

When she fell from the tree and stumbled away, it made a squeak and scrabbled aside, watching her, then returned to its meal with every sign of enjoyment. She could hardly believe it! After weeks of being pinned, impaled to the tree, she was free! A sob of relief escaped her, but she held her celebration off. First she had another matter to attend to.

That matter grunted and shifted, rolling over and looking up, scenting the air, his little tendril-snout lifting in elephantine fashion. His eyes widened as he threw himself up to his feet, staring at the trunk, now bare of her, and the odd creature there devouring the remnants of the spikes.

"OVER HERE, YOU BASTARD!" Valerie roared at him. She was tired, and weak, but she felt her fury building in her as her captor turned and charged at her, roaring wordlessly as his claws swiped at her. She ducked aside, and let loose the rage before throwing herself into him with equal fervor.

Her claws tore at his flesh, and she exulted to see him grimace in pain at her hand, even as his blood burned at her skin. He struck her with one hand, but she ignored it. Weeks of pain made such a sensation seem little more than a tickle, while she ripped with her claws and teeth, the acid burn pushed aside by her lust to see him broken at her feet.

He answered with a swat and chomp of his own, as did she, burning still from his blood. He dug his teeth into her again, while her claws replied with fresh furrows in his flesh. Again he bit her, while she only managed a single claw strike. his blows failed to harm her, while she threw everything she had into her assault.

He staggered, obviously on his last legs. But instead of coming at her again, he swiftly drew away from her, retreating! She followed after, "NO YOU DON'T!" she cried, casting her eyes about, looking for something, anything to pick up and throw. She found a rock, but he was turning to dash off as swiftly as he could.

She hurled it, her shot going wild, and cast about for another stone. He continued to flee, and she chased after before hurling the stone again. She might've been amazed just how far she could make it fly, were she not so desperate to try and bring him down before he could escape.

Her throw flew straight this time, beaning him in the back of the head. He toppled over to the ground, but within moments was rising up, stumbling off again. She snagged another rock, threw, missed. He began to flee into the distance, and she gave a shriek of frustration, trying vainly to pursue him, throwing another rock, but by now he'd outpaced her arm.

Strained to her limit, she collapsed, and slumped over. Frustration at not taking out the Troll who'd done all those things to her mixed with her emotional turmoil from what she'd been through. She sobbed and wailed her misery for several minutes, punctuated by bursts of lingering fury, pounding her injured hand violently against the ground.

Finally, it abated for the time being, and she forced herself to her feet. She had to recover. She had to eat. That was the only way she'd get her strength back. For her enemy was still out there, and she wasn't going to have peace until one of them was dead.

She staggered back to where she'd been kept captive, where the remains of her camp lay not far away. It was disheveled, but her tent was still intact, fallen over. She likewise saw no sign of the strange rust-eating creature that had freed her, but said silent thanks to it, whatever it was, for its role of liberator.

She went to the river, half-stepped, half-fell into it, rubbing at her body. She still bore acid burns on her skin, but being able to wash all the grime away from her flesh was a good step on the road to recovery from her trauma. From there, she did a little fishing, and gorged herself on her catch, whole and raw.

Feeling her stomach filling for the first time in weeks brought her some relief from her lingering exhaustion, but she needed rest. Yet she was afraid to sleep, for fear of being ambushed, of being violated in her dreams again. She resisted the impulse for a time, watching, listening, to see if her tormentor returned.

When he did not, she finally gave in, crawling inside her tent and dropping off. Her dreams were not pleasant, memories of what she'd endured, but they were not as fresh and burning as what she'd suffered during her time impaled to the tree. Just echoes of her torment. That was bad enough, but she was too tired to be roused by them.

She snapped awake, still feeling ghosts of her experiences from the dream, but she felt more alive and alert than she had for some time. She crawled out, immediately set to fishing again, then took her time to properly cook a feast. As she filled her belly, she ruminated on the problem at hand.

No doubt that monster was going to come back for her. He'd had little trouble finding her before, likely tell he'd do it again. She still ached from the burns his blood had given her. She wanted to try and recover from them as much as she could before they fought again.

She set out, hunting for prey and downing a nice fat pig to stock her food stores for several days. Over the course of them, she tried to think of how she could down and keep down her foe. She had no way to hold him in place once she downed him, assuming he was every bit as indestructible as she was, barring the use of acid.

Considering his own had no effect on him, she doubted even that would work. She knew he ate, she'd seen him do it, same with drinking water. So presumably he could starve too, just as she could. She just had to immobilize him as she'd been immobilized.

She had no metal spikes on hand, but she could make some wooden ones. Would that work, though? Would his blood eat through? Presumably so. She needed something big and heavy, then. Something he couldn't shift off. She hadn't seen any large rocks around. The problem ate at her, until she finally looked up and... "Of course!"

The trees! She could chop down a huge tree with her claws. Some of them were enormous, easily the size of redwoods back home. There was no way he'd be able to get out from under one of them. Of course, she'd have to down him and keep him that way. She knew from experience it took several minutes to regrow lost parts.

If she could decapitate him, or just turn his head to mush, that should give her enough time to bring a tree down. Of course, first she had to bring him down. Last time she'd lacked her ranged weapons, and she was worn out from starvation. This time she'd be better prepared.

It took a little searching, but she located a large branch that would make a suitable club. Its long handle would keep his blood from splashing on her, so she could keep him disabled while she felled a tree atop him. Feeling more recovered from the acid burns, she decided the time was here.

She chose a clearing off away from the river where she could make her camp. But she didn't stay there. Rather, she did her best to hide nearby, in the hopes he would come up and allow her a chance to ambush him. Time passed, with no sign of him. She began to grow tired, tempted to sleep.

But then she heard movement. Looking through the forest, she saw his shape, tall and gangly, approaching slowly, sniffing the air. He saw her tent there, and leered. So did she. _C'mon, fucker. Come a little closer...I got something for you this time..._

As he reached the tent, preparing to dash it aside, try to attack what he assumed was her within, she stepped from the brush and hurled a spear, unleashing her fury. He wouldn't escape. Not this time! Her throw struck home, and she closed the distance before he could react, tearing at his flesh.

He turned to strike at her, his clawed hand drawing blood, but her own claws and teeth struck back. He managed a swat in return and bit at her shoulder, while her claws dug at his guts. None of his blows found their mark, but her claws and teeth did. He was tiring, but still he came at her with all his might, delivering a good rake of his talons.

Her own tore back while her teeth savaged his flesh, all the while burning at her with his acidic blood still. She ducked his strikes, landing another tear and chomp. He was staggering again, and as she predicted, he turned to flee. "NOT AGAIN!" she roared with resolve, charging up behind him to tear into his back.

He stumbled over to the ground, but was almost instantly trying to rise again. She swiped at him and gave a cry of frustration when her claws failed to land, while he started to pull away. She rushed in again, landing another blow, and this time he went down, unmoving.

She let out a triumphant roar and plunged her hand down, snarling "GAME OVER!" as she grabbed his throat and ripped it open, spilling his blood to sizzle upon the ground. Grabbing his feet, she set to dragging him back where she'd located the tree she planned to use.

Not taking chances, she got the club and took great pleasure in smashing his head to a pulp, a catharsis for some of the horror she'd been through at his hands. Once she was done taking her vengeance, she turned her attention to the tree. It was as wide as she was, if not moreso, but her claws were well up to the task.

She set to work, imagining it was Vaprak who was in her grasp, that it was his flesh and blood flying instead of bark, wood and sap. It felt oh so good to vent like this, and she was rather impressed at how easily she tore her way through the trunk of the tree. In a minute's time, she was halfway done.

Perhaps half a minute more and she started to narrow her channel of destruction, wanting to angle the cut so it would fall the way she wished. A loud crack and creaking sound came from the tree as she neared two minutes of furious clawing. It was starting to fall. She quickly dodged out of the way, resisting the urge to give the lumberjack's call.

Instead, the word _TIIIMMMMBBERRRRRRR!_ resounded in her thoughts, and she gave a savage grin and a whoop of triumph when it crashed into the ground, shaking the earth with its impact, echoing through the woods. Then, thunderous silence. She walked around the stump, approached her fallen foe.

There he was, pinned beneath the trunk of the tree. She idly shoved at it, and laughed. It may as well have been a mountain for all she did trying to budge it. If she couldn't do it with full use of her arms and legs, there was no way he would, immobile as he was.

She crouched nearby, watching, waiting. It wasn't long before his eyes snapped open. He thrashed his head around, locked eyes on her, tried to speak, but could get no air into his lungs. That seemed to have little effect, though. She chuckled, "Damn, us Trolls are tough, huh? You taught me all about that, didn't you?"

"Shame you didn't think to finish me off while you could, though. But you were trying to punish me in the name of your so-called god. Well, where is he now, huh? He gonna come along and save you? I doubt it. Strong survive, and the weak perish. Looks like the shoe's on the other foot now, as we say back home."

"I don't care about punishment. But I do care about revenge. That's why I'm gonna sit here and watch, until I'm sure you're good and dead. And when that's done, I'll go about my life. And you...you'll go on to your well-deserved eternal reward. Have fun being everyone's dinner, motherfucker. You've earned it."

He slipped in and out of unconsciousness several times, while she waited. Eventually she got up and went to rest, eat, came back to lay around and watch. Now and again he would glare at her, but she would just smile, wave, sit and carve a piece of wood, waiting.

She'd been given water, whereas he was quickly dehydrated. By the second day, he was bleary. By the third day, she could see the fear in his eyes as death crept closer and closer. He was regaining consciousness less and less, but he was struggling, trying to cling to life despite his inevitable fate.

On the fourth day, sometime in the night as she slept, he expired, for when she woke on the fifth day and went to check on him, he was unmoving. Didn't wake up. She smiled grimly to see that. "Good riddance." she said to his corpse, and went to her camp.

Her deathwatch finished, she packed up and resumed her travels, leaving behind her harrowing experience. Though she still bore the scars, both physical and mental, from her ordeal, in time they would heal. Until then, her journey lay ahead, and with it, the dream of home. But first, camp. And sleep.


	7. Lair of the Beast, Part 1

Panic shivered through her when she saw the dark, smoky cave again. _No, not this again! NO!_ But the Trolls there seemed unaware of her. Even the horrid Vaprak, atop his throne of bones, seemed ignorant of her presence. Confusion mixed with fear as she tried to understand why she was seeing all this again.

Then a brilliant light filled the chamber, making the Trolls cry out and shield their eyes. Even Vaprak cringed and snarled from its radiance. Within it, a slender feminine shape appeared, then shifted in moments to an equine form, sporting a long spiral horn on its head.

With a coat of shimmering white and flowing mane, it was impossible not to recognize: a unicorn. As the light dimmed, the Troll god rose to his feet, "WHO DARES? I WILL CRUSH Y--" he began to bluster, before the unicorn rushed forward, head bowing, to skewer him in his chest and turn his words to a cry of agony and surprise.

_I DARE!_ came the reply, a woman's voice as fierce as it was beautiful, filling the air all around. It sounded like the one she'd heard in her previous dream of the unicorn, only this was filled with a righteous fury. The unicorn wheeled, jerking the hulking figure of the Troll around. It drew its head back, tossing blood from the argent spire, and reared.

It lashed out with its forelegs, slamming its hooves into Vaprak's chest, then bearing forward to push him to the ground. All about, the other Trolls fled from the sight of their deity being assaulted so. The Destroyer groaned, then snarled, reaching with his huge clawed hands to attack the majestic creature. "I'll TEAR Y--"

The burning radiance filled the air once more, and Vaprak screamed in pain. _YOU WILL DO NOTHING BUT HEED MY_ _WORDS!_ After several moments, the radiance dimmed again, and the unicorn looked sternly down at the vile giant. _YOU HAVE VIOLATED MY REALM WITH YOUR FOUL CREATURES AND DEMONIC SERVANTS. NO MORE!_

_IF I EVER SENSE YOUR TWISTED HAND IN MY LAND AGAIN, I WILL RETURN! AND I SWEAR BY ALL THAT IS GOOD, THAT IS THE DAY YOU WILL END, MISBEGOTTEN SPAWN OF ANNAM!_ With that, the unicorn reared and slammed its forehooves to the ground nearby the Troll god's head, making him cringe in fear.

It trotted away a short distance, then vanished in a final flare of that brilliant light. As it faded, so too did the view of that dark cave and the now-humbled god who dwelt within it. Valerie jerked awake, shivering, feeling that deep burn in her muscles that always heralded another growth spurt.

She took a deep, shaky breath, a wave of feelings washing over her. Anger, relief, joy, sadness. Tears flowed from her eyes as she remembered anew her nightmares within Vaprak's cave. But they were tempered by the vision she'd just had, of this unicorn goddess humiliating him and threatening to destroy him if he ever crossed her again.

After several minutes, she drew her legs under her, sat upright in a kneeling position. She felt a little silly doing this, but she had to say it. "Whoever you are, thank you for what you've shown me. Thank you for punishing him for me. If there's anything I can do to repay you, please tell me."

Silence was her only reply, so she crawled from the tent and stood, stretching. She took a measurement with her spear, confirmed her suspicion of fresh growth. She was at least a foot taller now than when she'd really started keeping track. And the Troll who'd tortured her was at least a foot taller than she was.

"Guess they don't call us giants for nothing." It was very strange to think of herself as such, but...what else could she say? Inside she was still human, but it seemed that as long as she was here, Troll was what she had to be. Setting about her tasks, she felt more at peace again after what had happened the last few weeks.

She also felt more coordinated and balanced than before. Taking her Elven dagger in hand, she twirled it nimbly between her fingers like her Uncle Jason used to do. She thought of him talking about playing Mumblety-Peg in the Army 'and all the other stupid shit drunk grunts off the line got up to'.

Tucking it away again, she resumed travelling. As she journeyed that day, she noticed the water on the river was starting to get rougher. She remembered Splish's words about how the Oceanus grew more hazardous to travel near the planar boundaries, and felt an elation. Was she finally drawing near?

She made camp, rested, started out again the next day. White water grew more plentiful, while she stuck close to the shore, looking for any sign of a portal she could find. As she began to tire, the roaring sound of water grew from up ahead. Forcing herself to hasten her pace, she approached to find the cause: a waterfall.

She'd never seen a really big fall before, just spillways from dams or footage from TV shows and movies. But here it was, big as life. The drop down to the valley below was several hundred feet, and near as she could tell, no portal was here or down below.

Valerie marveled at the view of the natural splendor, but soon had to contemplate her next move. She looked around the sides of the river. It would be miles to walk if she followed the slopes. While she didn't relish the climb down, she at least knew, worst come to worst, the fall couldn't kill her.

She didn't have a lot of experience in climbing, especially a sheer vertical surface like this, but she got far enough away from the fall that the slope wasn't wet from the spray, crouched, and cautiously slung a leg down. Her large, clawed toes were at least good for digging into the wall. She did likewise with her hands, and swung the other down.

Crouching, feeling her weight balanced, she did likewise with one, then the other hand. She was more than capable of hanging on when she had a good hold. From there, she started slowly descending. "One step at a time." she muttered to herself. Looking down, seeing the ground far below, she had a moment of vertigo.

But stopping, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, centering herself, it passed. "One step at a time." she repeated, making it a mantra as she continued her descent. Bit by bit, her movements became surer and smoother, until she was going about it with a fluid motion, almost like she was using a ladder.

She could've let go easily the last few feet, but she held on until the end, when her feet touched the ground at the base of the cliff. She released her claws and took a deep breath, sighing it out, feeling a warm glow of accomplishment. She stared back up the cliff and marveled at how far she'd come.

Approaching the pond formed at the base of the waterfall, she unpacked her camp and enjoyed a nice dip in the clear water before returning to relax by the fire. Cooking up the rest of her last hunt, she pondered what to do. She didn't see any portals down here either. So unless she missed it up top, this was just a bump on the road.

She wondered how dragons like Splish got down here, then remembered: they have wings. She smiled at the image of the little river dragon diving off the falls and gliding down into the pond. Finishing her meal, she sighed. She'd just have to keep following the river, she supposed. But first, rest.

She broke camp the next day, starting out along the slow, lazy course of the river here past the falls. Its banks were much closer together here. She presumed they'd widen back out further downstream. Its course meandered this way and that, winding back and forth through the forest.

Moving past an ox-bow in the river, she paused to take a drink of water, when she felt a tremor in the ground. She looked around, saw nothing moving that might be the cause. It persisted, grew stronger. A sound of dirt and rocks shifting drew her eye to the sight of something piercing up through the ground.

It looked like a...a fin? She didn't have long to contemplate, as it suddenly started approaching with great speed, sending soil flying in its wake like some sort of demented farmer's plow. As it drew within several feet, the earth exploded as a huge grey head breached to the surface, opening a massive set of jaws, intent on clamping down on her!

It chomped on her leg, worrying at her flesh, its bullet-shaped head and armored body climbing from the hole. She pulled away, snarled at the quadrupedal beast as she unleashed the fury inside her, tearing at it with both sets of claws and her teeth. It reared up, slashing with its stubby but sharp-clawed forelegs while slamming its jaws down on her arm.

But it was to no avail; her armored hide was too tough for it to penetrate. She shook it off and launched a fresh assault, sending the creature's blood flying. It was greatly weakened, but stubbornly kept up its aggression, leaping into the air suddenly and lashing out with all four legs in a fashion that reminded her of a shark breaching the water.

Even that impressive display proved useless against her hardened rubbery hide. As it came back down to the ground, it stumbled, exposing its underbelly. Valerie saw her chance, thrusting her claws in, digging into the creature's guts and tearing them out. It gave a strange groaning, grunting cry, kicked its stubby legs a few times, and went still.

Her rage fled from her and she crouched down, catching her breath. "The Hell is this thing?" she muttered, looking it over. How it managed to burrow through the ground with such speed and ease, she had no idea. But it seemed well-adapted to the passage, for such a heavy, armored creature. She located her water skin, had a drink, washing the blood out.

It didn't taste very good, but she wasn't really concerned about dining on it, anyways. "Just hope there's not any more of these things around." She'd dispatched it without much trouble, but she didn't relish the thought of one leaping out of the ground while she slept to try and have her for dinner.

Travelling further into the valley, she paused when a rustling came from some nearby brush. Turning to look, she spied what at first she thought might be some kind of dinosaur...until it raised its head. It seemed like some sort of bizarre cross between a fish and an anteater, a long snout with feelers dangling at the sides, flicking a prehensile tongue in the air.

Staring eyes on small stalks regarded her, its head moving in short, birdlike jerks. She heard an odd series of hissing-sputtering sounds, like someone letting air out of a balloon, and realized the strange hornlike bump on its head possessed a sphincter of some sort. The sound seemed to be coming from it.

It had no forelimbs she could see, just a pair of bird-like legs and a short, stiff tail. It balanced forward, its hide brownish in color with grey stripes along its sides. "Just when I think you things can't get weirder..." she commented, shaking her head. Suddenly, it took off running in her direction with a surprising speed.

Before she knew it, it was right there on top of her. It raised its head, then she heard a hiss before the air filled with a stinging, acrid smell as a thick yellow stream shot from the orifice on its head at her. She gave a cry of alarm and threw herself to one side, but the substance still splashed upon her. Acid!

She let loose her rage and tore into the creature, wounding it. In response, it kicked at her with a clawed foot, causing no harm. Her answering claws did, putting the freakish thing on the ground, where her foot stomped on its neck with a crunch, causing it to twitch a few times and go still.

She let her rage go and hissed in pain at the lingering burn from its acid. "Fucking...acid-spitting thing!" she growled. "I just got over the last fucking thing that burned me with acid!" That had taken nearly a week to recover from fully. This would take a few days, at most.

But it still annoyed her, after being so used to healing up in seconds or minutes from injury. When she stopped to make camp later, she was sure to wash her burn carefully. So far it seemed infections weren't something she had trouble with. Considering how resilient she was and how rapid her healing processes were, it wasn't surprising.

A couple of days passed as she made her way through the valley, the land sloping down further, the pace of the river picking back up as feeder streams started appearing, growing it in size once more. When she got underway on the third day, she came upon a disturbing sight. At first she thought it was just a wild deer, prime to be killed for food.

But as she looked at it, she saw something about the way it was sitting just wasn't right. Coming closer, she noticed its body seemed misshapen with odd growths, its hide was patchy with raw red spots and white pustules. Its eyes were milky and it had a viscous discharge in its nostrils a sickly yellow color.

She could smell a swampy odor coming off it. When it spotted her, it lurched awkwardly to its feet. And instead of trying to flee, it gave a strangled bleat before charging at her! "Shit!" she cried, yanking a spear out and skewering it. A spurt of dark blood mixed with a brownish fluid erupted from the wound, and the smell of infection hit her like a slap.

She coughed, gagged. "Holy fuck that's foul!" She dragged her cloak around, held it over her mouth. She saw the pus-filled blood spurting from the wound, creating a vile pool on the ground. The deer was still then, and she looked at it with disgust as well as pity. "The Hell happened to it?" she remarked while recovering her spear.

She immediately dunked the weapon in the water, held it there for some time while getting downwind of the pustulent odor of the slain deer. Once she was sure it had been washed of the foul-smelling fluids, she let it dry off, carried on her shoulder as she looked around.

She saw then something else she hadn't ever seen here. A tree, looking to be rotting away. Not a fallen tree gone to decomposition. One still upright, dead and almost seeming like it was...putrefying. A slimy mold covered the bark, the leaves were darkened and covered in patchy grey growths of fuzz.

It disturbed her to see this, the sense of wrongness was almost palpable in comparison to the magically healthy specimens nearby. But she noticed on a few trees, patches of that mold. Like it was spreading from the infected one. A sense of foreboding came over her. "That's it, I need to get out of here."

She forded the river, away from these sickened specimens, hoping to avoid any further encounters. But as she continued downriver, she saw more of them across the water. She couldn't help but notice, and be reminded of some kind of horror movie, wherein dark things corrupt the world around them.

It wasn't long before she heard the rhythmic rustling of wingbeats on the air. Looking to the source, she spied a freakish creature headed in her direction. Sporting three heads on a body that seemed a cross between a hooved rear end and a catlike front end, it had large batlike wings.

Greenish-black scales covered it in patches, and the eyes of all its heads had a yellow glow to them. One was some sort of horned goatlike thing, another feline, and the third reptilian with forward-facing horns and the same green-black scales as appearing on the rest of its body.

They moved, looking around and below independent of one another. When the reptilian head spotted her, it gave a growling cry, followed by the other two turning and making a roar and a bleat. It turned towards her, flying closer. "Oh, great." muttered Valerie.

Pulling a spear out, she released her primal fury and hurled the missile towards the bizarre thing, striking in its side. It twisted, throwing the spear loose as it drew closer overhead. Hovering there, the reptilian head seemed to draw a deep breath, before it spat forth a yellow-green gout at her.

She tried to dive aside, but still was splashed by a familiar acrid burning substance. "Acid! Why's it always acid!" she yelled, pulling another spear and flinging it at the beast, wounding it again. The creature dove then, landing before her and lashing out with the teeth of the reptilian head.

Her armored skin turned the creature's bite aside, while she slashed at it with her claws and bit into its flesh. It tried to dig its own triple sets of teeth and foreclaws into her, to no avail. Her claws tore at it and her teeth savaged its goat-head neck. Weakened by her furious assault, the creature took off and began to fly away.

"Oh, no you don't!" Valerie pulled a spear free, not wanting to give that thing the chance to come back after her later. Her toss struck home, causing the creature to cry out from its three mouths before it rolled over to crash into the bank of the river.

Grumbling to herself about her latest bout of acid-induced injury, Valerie collected her spears and was soon on her way again. Her journey downriver was progressively revealing more of the twisted landscape. Whatever the cause, it seemed she was forced to travel in its vicinity if she wanted to stay on course.

Things became complicated further when, nearing the end of her day's journey, she came to a split in the river, forming a Y-shaped junction. "Oh. Wonderful." she griped when she came to the crux. "Now which way do I go?" If she took the left fork, it seemed to be heading away from the blighted area. The right one, into it.

She looked about to see if there was a tall tree she might climb, get a better view of their courses. Fording past the crux to the far right side, she approached a likely candidate when the sounds of movement in the brush nearby drew her eye to the sight of a hulking brute of a creature nearby.

It was a good foot taller than her, stood on two legs, with a grey hide that was splotched with red scaly patches. It had a hunched posture, a neck-less head whose mouth was large, filled with many sharp teeth. Perhaps most strange were its eyes, two sets of three, glowing yellow on the sides of its head.

Thick, muscled arms with sharp claws and a squat, waddling gait on its short legs didn't prevent it from moving quickly when it spied her there. It gave a bellowing cry and came at her, rolling along on its knuckles gorilla fashion. On her in a flash, its jaws clamped down and wrenched at her, hard, making her cry out in pain.

It held on with a dogged persistence, tearing at her further. She struggled, injuring herself further, but managed to throw it off. It came right in again at her with teeth and claws, savaging her shoulder again, but she got away more easily, replying with her own teeth and claws.

This time she fended off its attacks, tearing into it again. The thing was wounded, but it tore into her again, ripping away at her arm with its teeth. She got loose to slash and gnaw it again. Greatly weakened, it tried to attack her once more. She batted aside its attempts, then put it down with a last series of attacks.

Her rage fled and she dropped down with a grimacing snarl of pain. "Glad there was only one of you." she muttered, catching her breath while her wounds healed up. It took some time; that thing had been tough! But once she'd recovered from the post-adrenaline surge of her fury, her injuries were gone.

Looking up at the branches of the great tree she'd picked to climb, she sighed. "Well...not gonna climb itself..." She rose to her feet, when from somewhere nearby she heard "Psst!" She looked up, all around. No one? "Psst! Over here!" She looked back in the direction of the tree. A spot of white caught her eye, and she looked down at the base.

There, leaning against one of the roots, was a curious little being. It couldn't have been more than a couple feet tall, its body covered in snowy white fur. While its head was animalistic, reminding her of a ferret, it had sharp, intelligent blue eyes and was wearing clothing, to boot.

A dark brown leather vest of some kind, even a tiny sword belted to its hip, and a lighter brown cloak with the hood pulled up. It had a stick in its hand, too, and seemed to be favoring one of its legs. It peered up at her with a serious expression as it said, "I hope you can understand me, Troll." It was speaking in the Celestial tongue.

The fact it spoke shouldn't have been a surprise after seeing it wearing clothes, but it did still cause Valerie's eyes to widen briefly. She then replied, "I can. Why?" The little ferretlike being grimaced as it hopped forward, using the stick to support itself. "I'm in desperate need of help. There's great danger to all of us nearby."

Valerie came closer, crouched down. "Yeah? And who're you, anyways?" The creature peered up at her, unafraid. "My name is Chirreep. I am a scout in service to Her Grace, Duchess Vhara of the Blessed Fields of Elysium, ruler of the Equinals and companion of the Celestial Lion, Talisid."

Valerie couldn't help but smile at the series of titles applied to the duchess Chirreep spoke of. But then she said, "Wait, you said Elysium? You're from there too? Are you a Celestial?" Chirreep nodded, "Yes. I'm a Mustevaal, one of the seven races of Guardinal. But I need aid, not attendance to a lecture."

Valerie said, "You think I'm just gonna help without knowing what that means doing? You Mustevel--"

"Mustevaal. Va-a-a-alll."

"--talking ferrets might do things on blind faith, but I'm not that eager to stick my neck out for a stranger."

"Fine. What's your name, then?"

"Valerie Bridgewater, formerly a Human of Earth and wanting to get out of this crazy world and back to my own."

"Earth? I've heard of that place."

Valerie's eyes widened. "Really??"

"Yes, I know of a portal that goes there, back home in Amoria. I'll be happy to show you the way...once you help me."

Valerie narrowed her gaze, "How do I know you're not just trying to trick me into helping you?"

The Mustevaal gave her a scornful look, "You question my honor? Perhaps they don't have it where you come from, but in my home, your word is your bond." He drew himself up as straight as he could. Valerie couldn't help but snort at the sight. "Okay, then swear an oath."

"Fine." Chirreep bowed his head and said solemnly, "In the name of my house, my land, my liege and all that is holy, I do so swear to uphold my word to you, lest I be cast out as a coward and oathbreaker for all of my days." While she smiled to see him actually do it, the conviction in his words and manner were unflinching.

She was reminded of the knightly mouse character from the Narnia stories and films of her childhood. "What is it you want me to do?" Chirreep pointed towards the corpse of the thing that'd recently attacked her. "I saw your fight with the Render. You killed it on your own, with no weapons but your claws and teeth."

He continued, "There is a sickness in the land here. Some evil has taken root, corrupting the wildlife. My companions and I were sent to investigate. We found what we believed to be the center of the affliction. But it was also guarded. The evil twisted a pair of Beast Dragons. We fought them, managed to slay one, but the second subdued the others."

Chirreep looked down, anger and shame in his expression and words, "I wanted to fight, to free them...but I'm not strong enough on my own. I had to flee, seek help, but in doing so I fell, injured my leg. I can hardly walk. I was lying in a burrow nearby when I heard your fight, saw your prowess and that you were not an evil being."

"Please, help me rescue my friends, end the life of the corrupted dragon that holds them captive."

Valerie could hardly believe it. He was asking her to go slay a dragon. "Uh...how big's this dragon, now?"

"It's still young, not much longer than you are tall. But the evil has lent it strength. It heals quickly from injuries, much like you do, and its corrupted flesh is tough. Its touch burns with a hateful power our magic could not overcome."

Valerie considered that. She didn't relish fighting some sort of corrupted thing, much less a dragon. But neither did it sit well with her to know this blight was spreading through the land, and something was at the center of it. Plus the promise of finding a way home...

"Alright. I'll help you if I can. But I need to rest first. Can we do that safely nearby?"

Chirreep brightened to hear that, and bowed. "My thanks, Master Bridgewater." Valerie said, "Miss. Not Master. I'm female." Chirreep peered at her curiously, then said "Miss Bridgewater. Apologies." He straightened and pointed, "We should be safe from prying eyes across the ford, beyond the treeline. Will you help me get there?"

Valerie nodded and held out her hand. "Sure, climb on." The Mustevaal hobbled a couple of steps to turn and sit in her palm, grabbing at her fingers. She curled her arm in as she rose, supporting Chirreep in the crook, then made her way to the water. She waded across one fork, the island between, and the other.

Chirreep made a few grunts of discomfort, but voiced no complaint. Once there, he pointed. "A clearing, there." She followed his direction to the opening, free of brush but still shaded by the forest canopy. Setting him down, she put her tent up, but when she started to make a fire he said, "No! The dragon may see the smoke and investigate!"

She nodded, "Right." She dug out her most recent kill's meat, set to chewing at it. "Hungry?" she asked. He shook his head, "Some water, though?" She offered the skin, which he handled awkwardly, but drank from. "So what are Beast Dragons like?" she asked.

"Usually noble if savage creatures, mighty hunters. What you might expect from a dragon native to this plane."

"They don't breathe acid, do they?"

"No, it's a mixture of freezing, shocking energy."

"Good. I can heal from that. Nothing else really seems to bother me."

"Fire doesn't cause you lasting harm?"

"No. Why, should it?"

"All the tales I ever heard of Trolls say fire is the way to kill them."

"Yeah, well...I'm not your typical Troll."

"I'd noticed." replied Chirreep wryly. "From what I know, most Trolls do good to say 'Me hungry!' or 'Me eat you!'."

Valerie just shrugged, focused on her meal. Once she was done, she rose and stretched, yawned. "I'm gonna get some sleep. What about you?" Chirreep said, "I'll keep watch." Valerie got down to crawl into her tent. "Alright. G'night. Or day. Whatever."

"Pleasant dreams, Miss Bridgewater."

"Thanks. And it's Valerie."

"As you wish. Pleasant dreams, Miss Valerie."

She curled up with her sleeping fur and was soon off in search of them.


	8. Lair of the Beast Part 2

She found herself by the side of a pond, within a forest glade under the moonlit sky. Gentle sounds of night insects were in the air, while stars glimmered above. She approached the water's edge, looked down at the reflection of the silver-white orb within it, though she avoided her own.

Then, a shadow seemed to arise, eclipsing the moon. Around her, the world went eerily silent. She saw a gloom sweeping through the trees, and in its wake the trunks blackened, twisted, began weeping slimy fluids. A smell of rot and decay filled the air, the grass became brown and dead, the water took on a grey, oily sheen.

The stars fled from the skies, the moon eclipsed, casting only the dimmest of light upon the perverted landscape about her. As she looked about at the nightmarish mockery of what had been beautiful nocturnal scenery, a voice spoke, the gentle feminine one from before.

"Left unchecked, this is the fate that awaits the land from the infestation of darkness. It is within your power to stop."

Valerie sat up, gasping for breath. She looked about, feeling that burn once again, signifying fresh growth. She ducked her head; the tent was almost too small for her to even sit in now. She looked about, saw a small shadow cast against the side from the sunlight.

"Chirreep." she muttered, reminding herself of her new acquaintance's name. A grunt from without, and the flap drew aside, the small white-furred snout of the little Celestial poking in. "Yes?" he spoke. She shook her head, "Nothing, just...a dream."

"Oh? Anything of import?"

Valerie said, "It was about this...whatever-it-is...infestation. Someone wants me to stop it. Besides you."

"Whoever they are, they understand the danger afoot, at least."

Valerie said nothing, just moved to exit the tent. Chirreep hobbled aside, taking a seat on a rock she'd laid out for the unstarted fire. She went about washing up, fetching fresh water, having breakfast. "You rested well?" Chirreep asked. She grunted an affirmative. "Good. Today, with any luck, we'll rescue my friends and return to Elysium."

Valerie nodded, "Yeah. So where's the dragon at?" Chirreep explained, "It lairs in a cavern, beneath the roots of a great tree, long dead and hollowed from what I can tell. I believe it can use the trunk as an alternate means of entry. The cave entrance we found was trapped, rigged for deadfalls and cave-ins. Luckily I was on hand to scry them out."

Valerie considered that. "Maybe I should come in from above, then. How high's the ceiling?" Chirreep considered. "I would say...three or four times your height." Valerie scratched her chin, "I could survive that, sure. How'll you get in?" Chirreep said, "I could ride upon your back, but I fear the dragon may notice me."

"Can you enter safely through the cave?"

"I believe so. There were no places we had to climb or jump. Simply the traps, which I can get past, even crippled as I am."

"It might be better that way. I can call for you when the fight's over."

"Agreed. Against another foe, I'd trust my Invisibility to keep me safe, but a dragon's senses are incredibly keen."

"You can turn invisible?"

"Aye, a bit of magic all my people can do. But it only works once a day, and ends the moment I take hostile action."

Valerie finished off her meal and set to breaking camp. Once it was packed up, she bent to collect Chirreep, who took a perch upon her shoulder, twining an arm into a lock of her hair to help secure himself. The pair set out, back across the river, and in the direction the Mustevaal indicated.

Here and there, Valerie spied the corrupt plant life, growing more abundant as they travelled. She chanced to see a few corrupted animals too, like the deer. She avoided them when possible, but if one attacked, she gave it a swift death, the two of them coughing at the vile odor of their perverted flesh and the sickness leaking from it.

"Gods of good, what twisted entity would welcome such a thing?" asked Chirreep rhetorically. Valerie shrugged, "Search me. I heard of fiends, things on the Lower Planes." Chirreep said, "Perhaps some of their ilk might, but even so!" He shook his head in wonder and disgust.

Signs of the corruption grew in number, until at last they came to a place that seemed utterly twisted by it. The air had a nasty smell to it, the sunlit sky seemed grey and bleak, and all about there was a sort of pall in the air, a feeling of hopelessness and despair.

"I feel like I'm watching the world die, and there's nothing I can do about it." said Valerie. Chirreep tugged hard at her hair, and she hissed in pain. "Hey!" The Mustevaal said, "Say no such thing again! The only way evil can triumph is if no one opposes it!" She'd heard that sentiment before, but the way Chirreep said it, he believed it with all his heart.

Trite as it might be, Valerie nodded and took a deep breath, shaking some of the gloom off herself. "Right. Okay, let's get this done." She quickened her step, and minutes later she saw the great tree, there upon a hillock. In life it had probably been a majestic site. Now it loomed there like some black tower, challenging any who approached.

Chirreep pointed, "There's the cave entrance. Perhaps a third of the way up the trunk and on the lee side is the hole the dragon uses." Valerie took Chirreep to the cave and helped him down. He looked up at her and said, "Now we come to it. Best of luck to you, Miss Valerie. Let righteous fury guide you to triumph over this darkness."

Valerie smiled down at the little Celestial. "Thanks, Chirreep." She left him then to walk around, up to the side of the tree. Looking up, she drew a deep breath. "One step at a time." She took hold with her claws, planted a foot, and began her ascent.

It took a few minutes of slow, careful climbing, but she soon reached the hole there in the side. She climbed up to perch there, balancing carefully. Looking down, she saw only blackness below. "One step at a time." she repeated, beginning her descent. Again, several minutes passed, but she soon could see the bottom, below the roots.

She climbed until she hung right at the edge. Looking about the chamber, she saw in the corner a group of four...growths. Like some sort of green blister, swollen upon a black, oily resinous substance that was spread about the cavern, each casting an eerie glow. And nearby, the shape of a winged, quadrupedal creature.

A reptilian being, its hide seemed to be primarily a yellow-green shade with dappled brown and black spots, a heavy head sporting a large horn on the crown, facing forward, and spikes ringing its jaw. Large batlike wings were folded there upon its back. As Chirreep had said, it wasn't terribly large, maybe as tall as her if it stood up straight on its hind legs.

But its form was twisted and warped. Bulbous growths upon its flesh, claws and teeth oversized for its body, heavy patches of scale like calluses between raw, cracked spots. She took a deep breath, centering herself. _This is it. Showtime._ She let go, dropped heavily to the ground, grunting in pain from the shock of impact.

The dragon's head snapped up in an instant, its body rising with similar swiftness into a crouch, wings half-spread. It let out an echoing growl, spied her and gave a savage leer. "New prey. Fresh trophies for my collection." Valerie let loose her fury as she hauled out a spear, "Just try and get me, ugly!" she taunted as she threw.

The dragon took a wound from her weapon, but it started to heal immediately as it took to the air, drew in, and let forth a gout of crackling energy that washed over her, chilling and shocking at the same time, just as Chirreep had said. She tried to avoid it, but it caught her full-force.

She pulled another spear and threw, again wounding it. The dragon swooped in, landing to try and bite her. She turned the blow away, having forced it to close first as she'd planned, and unleashed her claws and teeth upon it. Corrupt flesh or no, she wanted to finish it as fast as she could, remembering Chirreep's warning about its touch.

She dealt more wounds, but the dragon came at her in a flurry of strikes. Teeth, claws, even its wings beat at her. She managed to avoid being hurt by any of them, coming back just as strongly. Both her claws raked it, but her teeth found no purchase. It threw itself into the fray again, and this time a set of claws and a wing tore at her.

She hissed in pain at the searing sensation of its touch, burning her with an unnatural fever. Otherwise its strikes dealt no real injury, but that burning sensation, it was like acid and worse. The dragon laughed to see her suffer, and Valerie snarled in reply before attacking once more.

Her claws batted up under its jaw, exposing its neck to a savage bite, causing it to roar in pain. She spat the foul-tasting blood in its face, grinning nastily at it. It was hurt, but far from through as it launched a fresh series of attacks. But they were of no avail, while Valerie answered with another swipe of her claws and more biting.

The dragon drew back then, raising its head, and spewing forth another gout of elemental power. Again it struck her full-force, but she pushed through to keep up her barrage of attacks. A powerful swipe sent the dragon's head flying aside, causing her follow-up swipe to miss, but she exploited the opening with another savage chomp to its neck.

The dragon was nearly finished, and it knew it. Lunging back, it took off, flying up to the hole and beginning to ascend. "Oh no you don't!" cried Valerie, moving around under it, taking aim up the shaft with a spear and tossing it. She saw it hit, but the dragon didn't stop, flying up out of her sight. "FUCK!" she snarled.

"Chirreep!" she called down the cave tunnel. "Chirreep, hurry! It flew off, but I dunno for how long!" The Mustevaal called back, "I'm hurrying as fast as I can! Quickly, free the others!" Valerie looked around, "In these pod-things, right?" Chirreep called, "Yes!" She turned to them, approaching.

Up close, she could see shapes floating in them, indistinct, mostly humanoid forms. She stuck a claw into one, and a vile-smelling fluid sprayed out. She coughed at the odor, but quickly rent the membrane open. From within, a being that reminded her of some kind of Satyr fell.

With hooved goatlike legs, its upper body was hairier and its face more animalistic, with curving ramlike horns. Once freed, it coughed and shivered, taking a shuddering breath as she laid it to the floor. "It's okay, I'm here to help." she said, turning back to slash open the second.

From within it came a wolflike being that seemed capable of going about on two legs or four, as it wished, with a silvery gray coat. It too was terribly weak, and she laid it down while freeing the third. This one was birdlike, with avian legs and feathers upon its back and head, arms seeming capable of acting as wings.

The final one was like the first, only its shape was feminine, not masculine. "Your friend Chirreep sent me, he's on his way. He's hurt, but alive. Can any of you stand? Walk?" The first one rose unsteadily, "I can." he looked blearily at her, then his eyes widened in shock. "Good lords of the blessed!"

Valerie held up her hands, "It's okay! I'm a friend! Ally! Whatever!" Chirreep called, "She is." as he came hobbling into view. The others were rising, weak and shaky, but stable enough. Chirreep hobbled up, "My friends, thank the gods you're alive. Quickly, there's no time to lose. We must flee before the dragon returns!"

Valerie swiftly recovered her two spears fallen in the chamber, before she returned to the assemblage of Guardinals. "Alright, let's go." She picked up Chirreep, "Lead the way." The Mustevaal pointed with his walking stick. "There!" She started moving, watched the pace of the others.

They were weakened enough that they couldn't run, but found strength enough to hustle along behind her. She didn't want to go too fast, watching her step and Chirreep, who steered them along. When they drew near the entrance, she paused. "Wait here." She handed Chirreep off to one of the ramlike Guardinals, approached the cave mouth.

As soon as she set foot outside, another blast of elemental power shot down at her from the dragon, lurking just above the cave entrance on the hillside. Valerie jumped aside, but still caught part of the dragon's breath upon her. It leapt down, gnashing its teeth at her, causing no real harm.

She dug in to unleash her rage once more, slashing and biting at the foul young wyrm. It came back with all its own fury, but she kept herself from harm to give it a powerful gouge with her claws, followed by another gnashing of her teeth. It managed to rake at her with its claws, causing more burning pain to her from its corrupt touch.

She tore at it again, the wounds starting to pile up for the twisted dragon. But it kept up its assault, biting her and searing her again with its vile presence, making her first counter-swipe miss, though the second and her bite struck home. It drew back and unleashed its breath again, hitting her full-force.

But again, she pushed through, wounding it further. It was growing weak, but it pressed its assault, confident in its ability to escape on the wing still. Its teeth tore at her again, but Valerie was undaunted. She drew her arm back, tensing to snap it in for a powerful blow. It struck clean, and the dragon staggered, knocked stupid by the force of it.

She missed her follow-up strikes, but unable to attack, it could only sit there while she wound up to give a second such strike, staggering it yet again. Her follow-ups landed that time. It was almost down. "DIE!" she yelled, coming in for one more flurry of claws and teeth, digging in savagely with both sets of claws.

A sudden impulse struck, and she thrust her arms apart, holding tight, as its neck was torn asunder, sending its blood spraying forth upon her and the ground all about. Foul-smelling as it was, she gave forth a bellow of triumph as her foe fell dead.

Slumping down in fatigue when her rage left, she heard a ragged cheer from the Guardinals, who had watched her battle. "Amazing!" cried one, coming forward. The others followed, and Chirreep said from his perch, "I knew you could do it! Well fought, Miss Valerie!"

Valerie gave them all a tired grin, "He wasn't getting away this time. I made sure of that when I rung his bell." The turn of phrase seemed to strike them as odd, but Chirreep replied, "Agreed! Now let's be off home so we can make our report. Hopefully our comrades can sweep this vile affliction from the land before it worsens."

Valerie rose to her feet, looking about. She recovered her spear, searched for the other. Not spying it, she sighed. "Ah well, I guess I won't need 'em much longer anyways." She'd done what was asked of her. Now, finally, she might be able to get out of this crazy world and return home. It'd be near Christmastime, and she could think of no better gift.

With the Guardinals in tow, she led the way back to the river, where she washed up as best she could, sharing water with the others from her skin. Chirreep pointed the way across again to another glade not terribly far off, where the great trunk of a towering tree lay. In the hollow of its base, she saw a wavering in the air.

When she drew near, she heard the familiar warbling note of a portal. "This is it? Back to Elysium?" Chirreep nodded, "Aye. Just step through." Valerie nodded, then did so, feeling that strange diving-water sensation, the moment of blackness.

And on the other side, she was greeted with the sight of a gorgeous blue sky, sprinkled with a few passing clouds. Waving fields of grass stood all about, while the shadow of a circle of standing stones ringed her. She stepped away from the portal, marveling at the beauty of it all, while the others joined her.

"This...this is beautiful!" she said in wonder. The Beastlands had a natural beauty as well, but that seemed like a candle flame compared to the sun, next to the joy of Elysium. She laughed in amazement, and Chirreep smiled knowingly. "Welcome to the Blessed Fields, Miss Valerie. Come, we make for yonder estate."

He pointed across the gentle hills towards a walled area, like some kind of European villa. Valerie laughed again, "I haven't seen a building in nearly three months!" Chirreep gave a squeaky little laugh, "That and much more await. Come." The group got underway, tired and ragged though the Guardinals were.

The knowledge of being home and safe spurred them on, and even the persistent ache of the wounds the dragon gave her couldn't hold back the cheer and excitement Valerie felt. As they approached, she saw large, powerfully built horselike beings moving about. One wore armor and had a spear in hand.

"Travelers approach!" it called out, and others came to near the gated entrance of the estate to see. Most were more horselike beings, but she saw a few of the other kinds of animalistic Celestials. Wolves, birds, rams, even one that resembled a great bear.

Exclamations arose as hands pointed her out, but Chirreep cried, "Have no fear, friends. I vouchsafe this Troll in our midst as friend and ally in our quest against the darkness that plagues the Beastlands." The wolflike Celestial with them said in a faintly gravelly voice, "As do I. It...she...fought valiantly to save us all."

That sent fresh murmurs among them, as Chirreep said, "We have all suffered wounds at the hands of the darkness. Fetch a healer to examine us, please." The one who was standing guard nodded solemnly, "I shall. Come inside and rest." It led them onto the neatly kept grounds of the estate, winding paths amongst a garden full of lovely flora.

The scents of them all were like perfume to Valerie's nose, a great relief from the memory of the cursed land they'd braved. The guard took them to a rotunda, where benches sized for both the towering equine beings down to the more human-sized waited. The others took seats and Valerie joined them.

"I shall inform Lord Hwynn you've returned, too." said the guard, before leaving them. The novelty of actually sitting in a chair made Valerie smile, even as the other Guardinals on the grounds kept peering at her with curiosity. "Don't get many Trolls around here, I expect." she commented.

"You're the first I've ever seen." said the male ramlike Guardinal in a deep voice. It took a couple of minutes, but soon another of the horse-people arrived, this one female and wearing a toga-like garment. She looked at Valerie with surprised curiosity for a few moments, then came to the aid of the others.

Looking them all over, as well as her, she nodded. "The touch of evil is upon all of you. I've heard of this, but never seen it personally. It can only be driven away with magic, worked upon hallowed ground. Can you walk a bit further? A shrine is not far off."

The others nodded, and with some grunts and groans they regained their feet. Valerie gave them aid, to which they muttered gratitude, in walking around the side of the long, low central building of the estate. It was built to scale for the horse-people, she saw, who were around her height.

It didn't feel as jarring in that sense, but the sight of the many other beings smaller than them, and conversely her, gave her a much greater estimate of her size than she'd had in some time. She didn't dwell on it much, though, as they approached a rectangular building, an open-air structure with sculpted columns keeping the roof aloft.

When she stepped upon the inner flooring, she felt a presence, gentle and uplifting, soothing. The others gave sighs of relief as well. The horse-woman turned to attend to Chirreep first, who sighed and gave a groan as her hands touched him. They glowed with a golden light for several moments.

At once, Chirreep hopped down from his perch, bouncing from foot to foot. He gave a bright smile, "Oh, what a relief that is! My thanks, kind lady." He gave a flourishing bow. The equine smiled warmly, "Of course." before she began using her magic to heal the others.

Valerie watched with muted awe. She was used to seeing her own wounds vanish of their own accord, but to see it caused by magic was a new experience. The other Guardinals each began moving about with much greater vigor. Though they still seemed tired and a little weakened, she got the sense they'd be fully recovered in good time.

Finally, the healer came to her, and she felt the warmth of the magic, a pleasant heat that relaxed her and made the painful ache flee from her body. "Thanks. A lot." she said earnestly. "It is my honor." replied the healer. The others had found seats upon benches here as well, and she joined them.

"Lord Hwynn should be along any time now." informed the healer, before she went nearby to a pool of water set there in the temple area. She knelt to wash her hands, then splashed her face and shook her maned head, flicking her long, well-groomed tail. Valerie looked about, taking in all the scenery, the smells and the sounds of those moving around.

True to her word, only a few minutes passed before another of the horse-people, this one wearing a more finely made toga decorated with some sort of ornate golden clasp at the shoulder approached. Upon his arrival, the others rose and bowed respectfully. Valerie followed suit, uncertainly doing the same.

"No, sit, sit. Rest, my friends." said the horse-being in a rich, warm voice. He took a long look at Valerie, then to the others said, "You have news from the Beastlands?" Chirreep stood up on the bench where he sat. "We do, milord. As per your instructions, we scouted the blighted land there."

He then told the tale of their battle with the two Beast Dragons, the others giving details of the fight, and their capture. Chirreep told of his escape, and encounter with Valerie. Valerie nodded along with his account, and when the time came said, "Well, I climbed up the tree, into the hole and down to the cave, where I fought the dragon."

"It slipped away from me the first time, but while it was healing up I freed the others and we made our way out. I went first and it ambushed me. We fought again, and this time I was more careful to make sure it didn't get away. A couple good, hard blows and I kept it off-balance long enough to kill it."

The horse-man nodded solemnly, "I see. Were there any other corrupted beings guarding the area?" Chirreep shook his head, "None we saw, milord." Lord Hwynn replied, "In that case, I'll send a message to Her Grace. Hopefully this darkness can be driven from the Beastlands post-haste."

"In the meantime, you are all welcome as my guests. Food, drink and quarters shall be yours as long as you need them." Valerie said, "Thank you, uh...milord...but I really just wanna go home soon as I can." Lord Hwynn nodded, "I understand. But surely one night's rest would do you good? A hot bath, soft bed, meal you didn't have to kill yourself first?"

Valerie said, "It...sounds awfully tempting." she thought about it for a couple moments, then nodded. "Okay. Sure. Thanks again." The equine gave a smile, "Of course. Come! Let's get you all properly seen to before we celebrate your company with a feast."

With that, Valerie and the other Guardinals were shown inside the manor itself. Like other buildings she'd seen, its design favored an openness, flowing from room to room. Benches and padded lounging chairs seemed the preferred seating, with decorative paintings and other art objects on display.

Seeing all these beings going about dressed made Valerie really feel naked for the first time in months, and all the more aware of the disheveled, naturally dreadlocked state her hair. The equine beings all had neatly groomed manes, and the fur of the other creatures was similarly well-cared for.

Lord Hwynn indicated a female equine, this one smaller than the one they'd met earlier. She gave the impression of youth, not a child but not fully grown yet. "Teera will show you to the females' bath." The equine looked at Valerie with nervous curiosity, but gave a smile. "This way, please?"

Joined by the female ramlike being, they were taken to a chamber where what looked to Valerie more like a shallow swimming pool was set amidst stone tiling, the texture roughened but not harsh. The ram-woman removed the sarong-like skirt and loose top she'd worn, and Valerie followed suit, laying her equipment on the ground.

A scent of some sort of flower rose from the pool, wisps of steam curling here and there. The ram-woman stepped down into it, lowering herself with a sigh, closing her eyes to soak in the water. Valerie gingerly tested it; hot, but not painful. The novelty of a hot bath excited her, so she stepped in a little faster than she should have, causing ripples and splashing.

"Oop. Sorry." she said, her voice seeming to echo in the quiet chamber. The ram-woman dunked her head fully, then came up, wiping her face. "Mmm. No worries." she said, her voice a hearty contralto tone. The equine, Teera, moved to a nearby table, fetching cloths, small oval cakes of what looked like soap, a bottle of some milky liquid.

She stepped into the water, while Valerie lowered herself down. "Oh, God." she groaned to feel that warmth washing all around her. She'd gotten used to bathing in the tepid river water. She too submerged, soaking in the delicious heat, before rising back.

She took up the soap and cloth, setting to work. Teera offered to help wash their backs, which the ram-woman accepted. Valerie commented, "I could get used to this." The ram-woman smiled, "You appreciate it more when you've been away for a time." Valerie said, "Tell me about it! I've been wandering the Beastlands for months!"

That made her companion's brows raise, "Really? Were you used to something more like manor life?" Valerie said, "Kind of. It's...hard to explain." She scrubbed hard at her skin. Even with her best efforts, a certain layer of grime had built up with the lack of soap. She had lost time to make up for.

"No wonder you're eager to return home. Don't worry, Chirreep will see you where he's promised. He's never failed us in our adventures."

"So you all, what? Work together regularly? I heard you hunt down fiends?"

"That's a large part of it, yes. They and their servants regularly cause trouble in the Upper Planes. We and our fellows do our best to stop them."

"Is that what you think's behind all this?"

The ram-woman dunked herself, and took the bottle of liquid. It poured out into her palm with a thick, honeyed consistency. She set to working it into a lather upon her head and other areas where more fur was visible. "Likely so. If not, some dark power just as bad as them."

Valerie nodded, rinsing at her skin, standing up to work at her legs and feet. "I didn't even ask your name, I'm sorry."

The ram-woman gave a gentle laugh which had the faintest edge of a bleat to it. "It's alright, we weren't exactly holding court. I am Cenari."

"Valerie Bridgewater. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Valerie worked at cleaning herself a bit more before she said, "So what are all the different...Guardinals? What are they called?"

"My kind are the Cervidal. Teera's an Equinal, Chirreep is a Mustevaal. The catlike ones are Leonal, the wolflike ones Lupinals. The birdlike ones are Avoral, and the bearlike ones Ursinal."

Valerie nodded, repeated the names, with Cenari reminding her until she got them all right. Teera took the cloth and soap to help her wash her back. "Can we do anything about my hair?"

Teera said, "It'll take time and patience, but yes. We have some oils to use when our manes become snarled and tangled. It should do the job."

Valerie sighed, "Good. I hate my hair being like this. But I had no choice other than to cut it off. And...I really didn't want to do that."

Cenari looked at her curiously, "May I ask why?"

"Well...I wasn't always a Troll. I used to be Human. But a trip through a portal changed me and stranded me there. And I guess...the only thing that still felt human on me was my hair."

Cenari's eyes widened to hear that revelation, but the explanation made her nod thoughtfully. "I can see that. But if you're to return home...what about your form?"

Valerie took a deep breath, "Well...I'm hoping I'll turn back. I really don't know what I'll do if it doesn't work."

"Hmm. Perhaps the gods will smile upon you. Mortals who do their work are sometimes granted a reward."

"Do you think so? Oh, that'd help a ton!"

"I'll pray it may be so for you, Valerie."

She smiled at the Cervidal, "Thank you, Cenari. Really."

"Of course. In the meantime, enjoy your stay here. Lord Hwynn is most gracious and generous."

Valerie sunk back down into the water once she'd been scrubbed head to toe, feeling like she'd lost several pounds of grime and grue. Her skin certainly seemed to shine in the light, almost like it had a metallic quality to the rich green shade. While she regarded it, Teera set to the task of washing, oiling and brushing her hair.

The progress was slow, but the young Equinal was patient and uncomplaining. "I can't thank you enough for doing this, Teera. I'd probably just tear it all to bits with my claws before I was halfway done." Teera chuckled, "It's my pleasure to aid a hero like yourself."

Valerie gave a gravelly laugh, "I'm not a hero. I just did what I had to do."

Cenari said, "You're a hero by my eye, at least on this day. Don't shy from your accomplishment."

Valerie shrugged, "Well, if that's the case, then Teera's a hero to me for working miracles on my hair."

Teera said, "Father says we should all be proud of our contributions, for it is together we make the world what it is."

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, that's true, though it's not always easy to see it that way."

Cenari withdrew from the bath to dry herself and relax, watching Teera's work. "She battles bravely your tangles and snarls, Valerie." she said with some mirth.

Valerie called back, "Guess even our hair is mean, nasty and tough."

"I don't know. Young Teera may tame the beast yet!"

It took some time and patience, just as she'd predicted, but Teera managed to comb out the mess Valerie's hair had become. Freed so from its kinked-up state, the locks reached down to the small of her back. To be able to drag her fingers through it, feel the individual strands again, was heaven to her.

"Teera, I can't think of how to tell you what this means to me."

The young Equinal smiled warmly, "It's alright. Your expression speaks a bard's tale."

Valerie rose from the water to join Cenari upon a bench, letting herself dry. Teera sat down too, drooping her arms. "But gods of good, my arms are tired! I've not worked so on hair since Father hosted that pack of Lupinals last year!"

Valerie looked at her, "Father? You mean...Lord Hwynn??"

Teera nodded, "Yes. Father says if we are to lead, we must understand as much of our people as we can. We serve them just as much as they serve us."

Valerie nodded in turn to that, "Your Father's very wise. I wish the leaders of my home had half as much sense."

Teera seemed to bask in the praise given, and when the two of them were dry she fetched loose robes. "Clean clothes will await you in your chambers." She led the two of them to another part of the manor, where the others were milling about. All had been cleaned and dressed in fresh clothing.

"Gods of good! Who is this great green thing?" called Chirreep in mock-surprise when he saw Valerie all cleaned up. Valerie shook her head, "I hardly know myself." She drew her hand through her hair again, "And I owe it all to Teera for her hard work tending it."

Teera sketched a curtsey, "It is my pleasure to be of service." Cenari waved a dismissive hand, "Nonsense. I don't know who fought the greater battle this day." Valerie said, "If you judge it by time and amount of arm-waving, Teera's fight was much harder than mine."

The others muttered amused, supporting comments, and Teera bowed her head in embarrassment, but her smile was delighted. "Over here." she said, waving to the rooms set aside for Cenari and Valerie. The spaces were very generous, with Valerie's scaled to the size she shared with the Equinal and Ursinal inhabitants.

She found a toga waiting there upon a low bed covered with sheets and pillows. Shedding the robe, she struggled a little to get it on, but with Teera's help soon found herself dressed for the first time in months. She looked in the polished silver mirror at her reflection. Still butt-ugly, but at least she was a clean, dressed butt-ugly with nice-looking hair.

Teera said, "Would you like someone to clean your things before they're brought here?" Valerie looked at her, then remembered. Her equipment. "Oh, if it's not too much trouble." Teera said, "Not at all. Simple cleaning magic will handle it."

Around that time, there were excited murmurs from the hall, and Valerie went out to find the others gathering around. A pair of servants had arrived, bearing food and drink. A platter with what looked like cheese, some fruit and sliced bread, along with goblets and a large bottle of wine.

Valerie stepped up, but waited until everyone else had sampled some before she helped herself. After months of eating whatever meat she could catch and cook, this was like finest dining. The wine was just as delicious, and everyone seemed grateful for the repast.

"The feast won't be for a few hours yet. Feel free to rest, or look about the grounds." informed Teera, once they'd all had their shares of the comestibles. Valerie was curious to look around, but she decided rest sounded better at the moment. Cleaned, scrubbed, dressed...she almost felt like she was home.

Returning to her room, she lay down among the pillows, sighing heavily at their novelty after months of sleeping on her simple fur. Soon she drifted off, relaxing more completely than she had in some time.


	9. Oerthbound

Swirling mist, shapes moving among it. The sound of many people shouting, as if heard from far away. Faint screams, the clamor of metal banging on metal. As if observing in slow-motion, she saw more clearly through the fog, many people clad in medieval armor, fighting one another with all manner of weapons.

Archers fired volleys into groups, soldiers clashed with axe and sword, pikemen set against mounted knights and cavalry, siege weapons fired. Men were cut down, lost underfoot in the shifting chaos of battle. It seemed to stretch on as far as she could see. No banners, no insignia, just a constant mill of war.

A shadow fell over her. She turned to look, saw a large man in heavy golden armor astride a powerfully built horse. A thick bristling black beard covered his face, but his eyes were stern and fierce as he gazed over the field, then down at her. He spoke: "This is where you belong."

She jerked awake, muscles burning again as she looked about at the unfamiliar surroundings. It took several moments before she remembered where she was: Elysium. She sat up, feeling her hair spilling over her arm, and smiled. She remembered too her cleansing, took a moment to feel the strands between her fingers.

A twitching in her guts made her grimace in discomfort. She felt something she hadn't felt in some time: nausea. Not severe enough she thought she was about to vomit, but an unpleasant churn that accompanied the cramp. "The Hell? Am I allergic to something I ate?" she muttered to herself.

She hadn't really eaten such things in ages. Maybe her body wasn't adapted for it? Standing, she stretched, and felt the way her new garment pinched a little in spots. Yep, she'd grown, again. Fortunately the toga was a loose-fitting affair, and adjustable. It didn't take long for her to refit it comfortably.

She yawned again. She'd been more tired than she'd thought. Looking at herself in the mirror, she focused on her hair. It really did look good, even if the rest of her didn't. She should probably try and do something with it, but just then she wanted to enjoy it wild and free, released from its tangled state.

She saw there near the doorway her things. All stacked up and neat, they had also been cleaned, just as promised. She marveled at how thorough a job they'd done. "Shame I can't take that magic home. If I could sell it I'd make a fortune." she smirked. Again, there was anxiety in her thoughts: what if she didn't change back?

She'd be a lone monster in the world of men, which in a way would be worse than staying in this world. At least here they knew what she was. She sighed, stepped out into the halls to look around. She didn't see Chirreep or Cenari or the others. She walked along slowly, taking in the decor of the manor.

She soon saw one of the bear-people going about. "Uhm, excuse me. Which way to the outside?" It pointed her in the right direction, and she thanked it before finding her way there. Once outside, the freshness of the air and the scents on the gentle breeze, the sight and sound of this place lifted her spirits.

It truly was a miraculous place to be. If this was her home, she'd certainly fight to keep it free of despoilers. She wandered around the grounds, looking at the gardens and statues, the view afforded of the land. In the distance she could see a river course, more buildings around its banks. A boat traveling along it, by oars, it seemed.

And she also observed, for the first time in months, actual change in the position of the sun. She hadn't seen a real day/night cycle in so long. Just taking a seat there on a bench, feeling the breeze and enjoying the calm, the tranquility, was a balm for her. She soon forgot about her worries, her discomfort.

"Ho, Valerie!" called a familiar voice. She opened her eyes to look down and spy Chirreep there at her feet. His akimbo stance in the short tunic-style toga made her smile. He peered at her curiously, "Do my eyes play tricks, or have you grown since I saw you last?"

She stood up, "No, they don't. This has been happening for months, I don't know why." Chirreep scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Curious. But Trolls are great towering folk, moreso than the Equinal and Ursinal. Perhaps you're just growing into it."

Valerie shrugged, "As good an answer as I've thought up." Chirreep gave a decisive nod, then waved an arm invitingly, "Come, the others are having a bit of sport. Join in! Work up an appetite for the feast." He jogged off, and Valerie rose to follow, curious what they were up to.

She soon found an assemblage of Guardinals there in an open expanse that reminded her of a sports field back home, only missing goalposts for football. It didn't have high stadium seats, but there were benches around. Others stood to watch, while the Guardinals engaged in contests familiar to her as Olympic games.

She watched for a time as they ran races, held athletic events, all in the spirit of good fun. Anyone who stumbled or fell was given sympathy, and sportsmanship abounded between them. When they came to a javelin throw, she decided to step up and take part.

Because of her size, she was placed against the Equinal and Ursinal competitors. The others all gave mighty tosses, but when her turn came, she was just as amazed as them when her throw flew three times their distance. It drew many cries of amazement and much applause, with requests for her to repeat the feat.

She did, laughing at her own power. She knew she was stronger since she'd last rested, knew she could throw a spear a good distance, but not like this! Of course, she hadn't had near the open space to really test it in months, not since she first acquired them in the frozen mountains back in the Beastlands.

"I've heard tales of the throwing arms of giants, but never seen it. It's mighty impressive." said Chirreep. "Had I wings to glide on, I'd enjoy a toss like that to soar among the clouds." There were only a few other Mustevaal present, but they went about their own competitions right alongside the others.

The sun had started to dip, and as the afternoon shaded into sunset, servants arrived to gather everyone back to the manor. Valerie and the others were led into a central hall, where several tables awaited, meant to be sat by on the floor. Comfortable cushions and mats were provided.

She and the others she'd come with were seated near the head of one table, and she soon saw why when Lord Hwynn arrived. Everyone had remained standing, and bowed heads were shown until he took his seat. Then everyone joined him, as servants began to bring trays of all manner of food.

Roasted meats of several different kinds, cooked vegetables, platters of fruits, breads, cheeses, salads, and plenty of wine or water to drink. The smell of the meat made Valerie almost drool in anticipation. She'd gotten halfway decent fixing her kills over a fire, but this was true culinary creation.

Once it was all laid out, drinks were poured and Lord Hwynn rose, raising his cup. "To all who join us tonight, and especially our returning heroes at my side, a toast: may light and laughter be your companions until the end of your days. Elysium!" Everyone chorused 'Elysium' with him, and drank.

Then another sound she'd not heard in ages filled the air: music. A group of players added sweet tones of their stringed instruments with a gentle beat of drums, which drew Valerie's attention so much she nearly missed the first serving round of the food. It really drove home how much she'd been divorced from the comforts of civilization.

But if the music was a slap to the face, the food was a powerhouse right hook to the jaw. All cooked to perfection, with sauces and accents to accompany it in the form of many side dishes, she was spoiled for choice. She made sure to sample every meat and a bit of gravy or sauce to join it before she tasted several other treats.

She finally settled on second helpings of her favorites, and even though she thought she might burst, a last third of one or two other things. All the while, music and the susurrus of conversation filled the air. Servants came to clear it all away, before sugary desserts were brought to complete the meal.

Even though she was sure she'd explode, she had to at least taste it, and was washed away for a moment. How she'd forgotten the savor of sugar. Her stomach practically bulged to fullness. She worried it might be rude if she reclined, but she saw she wasn't the only one, and joined the others in laying back.

Those who hadn't stuffed themselves quite so completely rose after the meal to gather on benches and talk, or stand and dance to the music. Valerie contented herself with watching. She had never thought those going about on hooves could be so graceful, but they proved her wrong.

Another particularly striking display was a pair of Avoral, with high-stepping legs and elaborate waves of their winged arms. Even the slow, stately movements of the Ursinal were pleasing to see. A voice addressed her: "You seem to be enjoying yourself." She looked to see Lord Hwynn.

"Oh! It's..." she struggled for words, and gave a sheepish laugh. "The best time I've had in forever. Really." He bowed his equine head graciously, "Then I have done my task. I am pleased to know you're happy. Tell me...are you tempted to stay?"

Valerie considered that, and then she nodded. "I am. This place is wonderful." He nodded, "It is. But I should warn you. If you stay too long, you may wish to never leave." There was a seriousness in his tone she hadn't expected. "Why?" she asked.

"Elysium is the place of truest good in the Outer Planes. It is the reward for the dead who dedicated their lives to such behavior, watched over by the Celestials. Living mortals like yourself are not meant to stay here. If you do, the plane will eventually entrap you. You will forget your mortal life, and become a part of it, just as the dead do."

Valerie sobered to hear him explain that to her. Trapped here, forgetting who she really was? As magical a place as it was, the thought of losing herself like that chilled her deeply. She nodded slowly, "I see. I...think it's a good thing I'm leaving tomorrow, then."

Lord Hwynn gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, "I try to warn every mortal I meet about this place. Most heed my word, but some cannot or will not. I have met those who would rather succumb to a prison of joy than return to their lives upon the Primes."

At first, Valerie could hardly believe someone would do that. But what if they were old? Lonely? Suffering? She could see how that could happen. Lord Hwynn said, "I'm sorry if I've dampened your spirits, it wasn't my intent. Please, enjoy yourself."

Valerie nodded again, and while she did take pleasure in the remainder of the evening, she didn't forget his warning. Retiring to her quarters, she soon drifted off in a deep sleep. The rays of sun trickling in roused her, to sit up with another wave of nausea. "Shit." she muttered.

Her stomach still felt full from the night before, so thoughts of breakfast were quickly pushed aside, and she waved off the invitation to a morning meal, instead asking to bathe again. She was shown around, and with the help of a servant washed herself thoroughly once more.

While she was drying off, the young Equinal Teera came in. "Had I known you were here, I'd have assisted you." Valerie waved off her apology, "I'm fine, you did more than enough the first time." Teera smiled and said, "Father says you're leaving today. For your home?"

"I hope so. This place is wonderful, but I can't stay. Your father told me about what Elysium does to living mortals."

Teera nodded, "It's a shame. I don't like to think of mortals suffering on the Primes, but Father says choice is their gift. It seems a poor gift to me if they can choose to damn themselves to the Lower Planes through greed or hatred or other base actions. But Father says good has no value if there is no evil to balance it against."

"Yeah, it kinda sucks, much as I wish it didn't have to. But that's life." she gave a helpless shrug. Teera nodded, then reached to her side, opening a pouch on her belt. "I wanted you to have these. They're to help you groom yourself. So maybe you won't ever have to battle your hair like that again."

Valerie looked at the little cloth bundle. Taking it and opening it, she could combs, a vial of the soap they used for hair, and a vial of scented oil to go with it. She smiled at the thoughtful kindness and said, "Thank you very much, Teera. Your Father should be proud of you." The young Equinal smiled shyly under the praise.

Returning to her room, Valerie looked around with a sigh. It was truly amazing here. But she wanted to go home. If this was it, at least it made for a merry farewell to this world. She gathered her things, hoping she wouldn't need them, but better to have and not need, and all that.

Chirreep and the others were waiting for her. "Come, we'll escort you there." said Cenari. As they went out on the grounds, a servant approached. "Lord Hwynn begs an audience before you go." he said. Valerie nodded, "Sure." The servant left, and moments later the Equinal noble arrived, bearing a quiver of spears.

He approached, and gave her a small bow. "I wanted you to take these with you. Fine hunting spears, as my own folk would use. They seem more your scale than the ones you carry now." Valerie took them, drew one and gave it a twirl. It was remarkably well-balanced, and she nodded. "Thank you, Lord Hwynn."

She gave him a bow as well, and he said "If ever you find yourself in Elysium again, know you will always be welcome in my home. Safe journey, Valerie Bridgewater." She slung the spears on her back, "Take care, Lord Hwynn." With that, she turned, leaving the estate with Chirreep and his companions.

The sun rose into the morning sky fully as they travelled. It wasn't long before they went down a trail towards another standing circle of stones. As she drew close, Valerie could see and hear the portal there. _This is it,_ she thought with nervous anticipation, her gut twisting.

When she arrived, she turned back to them all. "Thank you for all your help, everyone." Cenari said, "It is we who must thank you still, Valerie. We would not be here today had you not helped." Chirreep nodded, "I hope you find your home and family on the other side."

Valerie stooped down to pick Chirreep up, brought him to her chest and squeezed gently. She felt his arms spread against her, and his whiskery cheek rub. "Take care." she said, feeling a little sad to leave the Mustevaal behind. She put him back down, and the others embraced her shoulders, with Cenari also sharing a brief hug.

She turned to the portal, drew a deep breath. This was really it. She stepped up, reached out, touching the surface. A last look at the Guardinals, a smile, and she said "Farewell." before stepping forward, plunging through the watery membrane, and the blackness that was the space between worlds.

Warm, slightly humid air greeted her on the opposite side. She stood within a forested glade, the sun and blue sky visible through the canopy above. Around her, the sound of wildlife and scents of the wilderness arose. For a moment, she dared hope it was over. She was home.

But she felt no different. Could still see the long arched nose on her face. Looked at her large green hands with their sharp grey-black talons. A deep breath, and a long, shaky sigh. "Shoulda known better." she grumbled to herself. Despair worried at her thoughts. How was she ever going to get back home?

A rustling in the brush nearby caused her to break from her reverie, grabbing at one of her new spears. She turned to spy a large, bulky dark body, low to the ground, that at first reminded her of the tremendous wolverine she fought in the Beastlands. However, the stripes upon its coat and the shape of its head quickly dismissed that.

Judging by the heavy claws on its forelimbs, she guessed this was some sort of huge badger. It came into the clearing, sniffing around, and paused to look up at her, unafraid, almost expectant. It ambled closer to her, looking right at her, and made a loud sniffing noise followed by a low grunt.

"Leave 'er be, Grubber. She's got nothin' for ye." said a gruff voice from behind. Valerie turned, hands half-raised, to spy a new arrival she hadn't even heard approach. It was a short, stocky figure, a little more than half her height, with a thick, bristly brown beard, dressed in some sort of animal-hide outfit, carrying a stout-looking staff of gnarled wood.

Regarding her with calm grey eyes, it - he - wore some sort of skullcap with a pair of curved horns that reminded her of the Cervidal she'd just left in Elysium. "Excuse 'im, 'e's used to gettin' treats from visitors." About that time, she heard another sniff and grunt, felt the badger's claws draw lightly against her foot.

"I was wonderin' when ye'd get here. Not that I mind waitin', was a family o' quail nearby needed a bit o' help." said the bearded fellow. Valerie furrowed her brow in confusion, "I...what are you talking about, waiting for me? Who are you?" The bearded man approached closer, "Ah, where're my manners? Not used to strangers comin' about."

"I'm Agner Treebeard. An' that's my friend, Grubber. 'e's a badger, if ye didn't know." The man pointed with his staff towards the creature there at her feet, still looking up at her expectantly. "Grubber! I said leave 'er be!" said the man sternly, thumping the butt of his staff on the ground.

The badger looked at him with a sort of insolence, then ambled off in another direction. Agner made an annoyed growl and waved a dismissive hand, "Ole glutton. Too much time in 'is burrow lately." Valerie shook her head at the bizarre byplay between the two, and said "Yeah, okay. What about this 'waiting for me' thing, again?"

"I was just gettin' to that. Are all Trolls this impatient?" scolded Agner mildly. Valerie started to give him a sharp remark, but said "I wouldn't know. I'm kinda new to being one." Agner's brows raised, "Oh? No wonder she said ye was different." Valerie raised her voice then, "Who? Who said that?" getting annoyed at the lack of answers.

"Ehlonna, who else?" replied Agner with a mild, slightly amused tone. "Who is that??" yelled Valerie, giving a frustrated stomp. Agner peered at her sternly, then combed at his beard as he said with forced calm, "The goddess o' the forest, protector o' the wild places an' its inhabitants."

At Valerie's blank look he said, "The unicorn in yer dreams. She told me ye was comin' 'ere." That took the ire out of Valerie briefly as she mulled over the explanation, but before she could speak further, Agner turned to start walking off. "Well, c'mon. No sense standin' 'ere all day!" He beckoned with his staff, kept walking.

Valerie started after, swiftly catching up to him. "Where are we going?" He glanced up at her, "Home, o' course. If I'm to help ye, may's well be comfortable while I'm at it." Looking at her hobbled stride in comparison with his, he said "Time to pick up the pace."

Before she could ask what that meant, a green glow surrounded and blurred his form to an outline. Within the glow, the shape of his form changed from that of a squat man to a wolf! The glow vanished and there he was, on all fours, with a brindled brown and grey coat.

Agner the now-wolf regarded her with those same grey eyes, then took off into the brush. Valerie gawped at the swiftly moving figure, before calling "Hey! Wait up!" She had to hustle, but soon found she was chasing after him quite easily. Racing through the trees and brush, she splashed across a stream.

On the other side, she saw where the ground rose up into a sloping bank. The wolf turned quickly and dashed down to an easier path up, off into the woods once more. Valerie caught up again, following him past an even higher rise in the ground, down another slope. And there, she saw the burrow.

While it wasn't as neat and tidy as the hobbit-holes of the Lord of the Rings movies, the arched entranceway into the hillside immediately put her in mind of it. Outside nearby was a small garden of various plants, a wooden frame upon which a hide of some sort was stretched, and a low bench made from a halved log.

It was to that bench the wolf trotted, and in the same green glowing light returned to the form of Agner. The short, bearded man turned and gave a pleased sigh, "Ahh! Been a while since I 'ad a good run like that." He reached into a pocket of the hide cloak he wore, removed a drinking skin and swallowed from it.

A strong odor of apples and alcohol wafted towards Valerie, as he gave another happy gasp. "Care for a nip?" he offered. She shook her head, and he shrugged, putting it away. "How did you do that?" she asked. "Why, magic, o' course. Ye did know it's real, aye?"

Valerie nodded, "I've seen several strange things I never thought were real, but apparently are, here. Trolls, for one." she said wryly. That got a quick bark of laughter and a few chuckles, "Aye, that were a shock for ye, I'm sure. Now what was ye before? Human?"

"Yeah, human. From Earth. Which is where I thought I was going when I entered that portal!" she said with sudden anger. Agner raised his hands, "Calm, now. Are ye sure it was Earth ye were told? Not Oerth? For that's where ye be now." Agner's pronunciation of the word was different. There was similarity, but the 'O' sound was more obvious.

Valerie stopped to think. Had Chirreep actually said Oerth? Maybe he did. Or maybe he just didn't realize she meant somewhere different. "I...don't know for sure. It was a Guardinal that told me." Agner said, "Seems t'me it was a mistake, then. Their kind ain't given t'lies for the sake o' lies."

Valerie shook her head, "No, they were nothing but kind and generous to me." She sighed heavily, feeling ashamed to have thought ill of them in her disappointment at not going where she'd wanted to. "So what about you? Do you know where Earth is?"

"Unless ye mean what's under yer feet, or the Elemental Plane, no. I've not heard o' such a place. But that's not to say it ain't out there somewhere on the Prime."

"Prime what?"

"The Prime Material Plane. Where all the mortal races are found. Well, most of 'em, anyways. Home 'o worlds like this one, Oerth. An' others such as Toril an' Mystara."

"...wait. There's more than one world? One planet?"

"Somethin' like that. Time was they were all...separated, like. Now it's all one big plane instead. I'm not all sure on that. Bit out o' my knowledge. Ye'd need to ask a sage about it. Point bein', it's possible to travel between 'em with the right magic, or with portals, like the one ye just came through."

"Yeah, I didn't see one after I appeared. Where is it?"

"Search me. I dunno where any of 'em are. If ye can see 'em, I'm thinkin' it was a whaddayecallit...one-way trip?"

"I guess. So, where can I find someone who can tell me how to get home?"

"A great city o' some kind's yer best bet. But, not many's gonna want a Troll wanderin' their streets."

"Lovely. What, are Trolls killed on sight or something?"

"Depends who's doin' the seein'. Trolls is mostly seen as monsters, an' monsters is how most be. They kill 'n eat whatever they can catch. Beasts, men, anythin' edible."

"So I should expect people to be hostile. Do Trolls talk much?"

"Most don't. Some're smarter'n others, o' course."

"So shouldn't the fact I can talk like normal folk count for something?"

"To some it might. Others'll just think it's a trick, somethin' pretendin' to be a smart Troll. There's things can change their shape far better'n I can."

"Wonderful. So I'm fucked no matter how I act."

"That's a queer expression. Who'd wanna have sex with a Troll? Besides a Troll, that is."

"It's...nevermind. By the way...what the Hell language is this?"

"Ye don't even know that much? Moradin's beard!"

"Yeah, don't know who that is either..."

"Moradin's the Soul-Forger, maker o' the Dwarven race. Which I be one of, by the by."

"I had a suspicion. So...language?"

"It's just called the Common tongue. A trade language spoken more or less the same in most places."

"Well, that's convenient. I also know I speak the Celestial language." She switched to the other language she knew, "What about this?"

Agner laughed, "Oh, that's the Giant tongue. Trolls, Ogres, Cyclops, the true Giants, they all use it. Even Ettin unnerstand it, a little."

"What's an Ettin?"

"A kind o' two-headed giant. Somethin' to do with orcs and demons long ago, I hear."

"Right, orcs. Why not? Got elves and dwarves and gnomes already. I guess there's hobbits around too?"

"Never heard o' them."

"Short, chubby people, live in holes in the ground, got hairy feet?"

"Nah, don't sound familiar. Got 'em back home, do ye?"

"Just...stories. Myths, I guess you'd call them."

"Then myths they stay, I reckon. Besides humans, elves, dwarves and gnomes, the other common civilized folk's the halflings."

"Wait, that sounds familiar. Maybe that's what I meant."

"Well, halflings is short, but they ain't chubby, nor do they have hairy feet. Or, no worse'n anyone else does."

"Okay. So, civilized races? As opposed to?"

"The savage races. Orcs, goblinkin, gnolls, ogres, trolls..."

"The Hell is a gnoll? That's not some kind of troll crossbreed, is it?"

"Nah, they're beast-folk, like. Ye know what a hyena is?"

"Uh, kinda wolf-like animal, hunts in packs?"

"More 'r less. Gnolls is like hyena-men. Nasty buggers, too."

"Oh, this place gets better and better."

"And kobolds. Can't forget them."

Valerie sighed. "And they are?"

"Little lizard-people, claim they're related to dragons. They mine the earth for gold 'n gems. They hate gnomes with a passion hotter'n the southern summer sun."

"Anything hate trolls like that?"

"You mean especially? Well...dwarves have no love for any o' the giantkin. Gnomes ain't likely to care much for ye either, but they're more flibberty-gibberty than dwarves, so it's hard to say."

"Flibberty...what?"

"Flighty. Uh...chaotic."

"Okay. So, someone said magic could turn me back to human. How's that work?"

"Ah, now that'll take a right powerful spell. Edges up to near the power o' the gods."

"Figured as much. Any way I can get that done?"

"Sure, long's ye find the right spellcaster. An' ye can give 'em what they want for it."

"What, my firstborn child?"

Agner laughed, "No, no. Money, like as not. Though it'd be thousands and thousands o' gold."

"And lemme guess. That'd take a lifetime to earn."

"Not necessarily. If ye're willin' to do dangerous work, might not take very long a'tall."

"Like what?"

"Mercenary work. Sword-for-hire, that kind o' thing. Or there's professional treasure-huntin'."

"You mean, like...go steal a dragon's hoard?"

"Aye, that's one way. Explore old ruins an' loot 'em for what's inside, that's always popular, too."

Valerie sat mulling that notion over. "Well, guess that's not much of a stretch. Already risked my neck plenty of times fighting whatever tried to kill and eat me in the Beastlands. Doing it for money might at least get me somewhere."

"Aye, true. Though not many's like to hire a troll to work for 'em."

"Anywhere they might?"

"Aye, but ye might not care for such places. Here in the Northern Reaches, they ain't as civilized as other lands, 'specially in the Bandit Kingdoms south an' east o' here."

"Where is here, by the way?"

"This is the Fellreev Forest. We're not far from the western bank o' the Cold Run River."

"Okay. So where could I find...work?"

"Well...nearest place'd be the city o' Rookroost. Travel southeast o' here, ye should reach it inside o' a week. Be careful, it's a mite rough place."

Valerie gave a grim smile, "Well, I'm a 'mite rough' myself, these days."

Agner chuckled, "Aye, s'pose there is that."

Valerie looked about, stretched her arms and legs. "I guess I should get going. Now...which way is it?"

Agner said, "If ye wish." He pointed his staff. "That way."

Valerie looked, and then gazed up at the sky. "So...the sun still rises in the east?"

"Aye, it does."

"And...what day is it?"

" 'Tis the Starday o' Richfest, in the six hundred and fifth Common Year."

"...yeah. Okay. I'll get someone to explain that some other time. Thanks for the help, Agner. You and...Grubber?"

"Grubber, aye."

"You both take care."

"Ye as well. Safe travels."

With that, Valerie made sure her things were secure on her back, gave the Dwarf a wave good-bye and set out. The forest wasn't terribly different from the Beastlands. Things seemed more muted, to her eye. Colors less saturated, the state of the flora more varied in vigor.

The day warmed as she did her best to make good time, though she did have to stop in order to hunt, prepare game for her trip. A chance sighting of a sturdy elk provided her enough food to last a few days. Watching the journey of the sun in the sky was something she wasn't used to, but she was able to keep herself on track.

As the sun made its way down into the horizon, she found a likely spot to make camp, settle in with a fire and dinner. Seeing the stars come out in the sky, she spent some time gazing at them, as well as taking in a clear sign she was nowhere near home. There were not one, but two moons, visible in the sky.

One was larger, the silver-white she was used to from home and in other planes. The second was a small aquamarine body, full and shining in its own path. "Big Moon and Little Moon." she named them, though surely the locals had other names. "And this is just one world."

She shook her head wonderingly as she indulged in a thorough brushing of her long hair. Her stomach was still feeling a little cramped and off. "Too much rich food." she opined, but damn had it been good. Thinking back on her brief stay there in Elysium, she could see now the almost dreamlike quality it had to everything.

"Wonder if that's the closest I'll ever get to a Heaven." she mused. That notion made her a bit sad, so she resolved to put it aside and find her rest instead. The next morning brought cool mists crawling through the brush as she made breakfast and packed up her camp to the rising of the sun.

It felt good to finally see it rising again on a regular basis. Even if this wasn't Earth, it was at least a world that worked in familiar ways. In that sense, she could feel like she was at least a step closer to getting home. Resuming her travels, she did her best to make good time through the forest.

Long since used to spending stretches of time with nothing but herself for entertainment, Valerie ran bits of songs, movies and TV broadcasts over and over in her thoughts, at times obsessing over the names of individuals who'd taken part. She was trying recall the roster of the '97 Lakers when she noticed the forest had gotten very quiet.

While it wasn't as noisy in the day as it was at night, this was an eerie silence. A 'something is wrong' silence. She stopped, looking around, listening. A flicker of something put her senses on edge, letting her react with preternatural speed, instincts honed by the primal force inside her, as three great arachnid shapes appeared!

Literally out of nowhere, each was the size of a small car, spiders with blue and white coloration that surrounded her, each lunging in to sink its fangs in her! She avoided two of them, but the third pricked into her skin, making it tingle as she felt its venom enter her body.

Wheeling on that one, she lashed out with her claws, grabbing hold, then with a sudden spasm, tore its carapace asunder, spilling its guts on the ground. It twitched, squealing, curling upon itself and falling to the side. The remaining two lunged in, one managing to bite her again, injecting venom. Then as suddenly as they'd appeared...they vanished.

She looked around, waved her arms where they'd been, smelled the air. Besides the odor of the dead one, she could pinpoint no further sources. "The Hell??" she muttered. Her wounds had vanished instantly...but their venom was in her system. "Great. Magic spiders that hop in, poison you and hop out."

She remained watchful, felt the venom burning in her system, but besides that uncomfortable tingle, no further ill effects seemed to be coming. She started to move on, hoping that was the end of it. But then from nowhere, again the two spiders appeared, attacking once more.

Neither managed to pierce her skin this time, and a second spider was quickly torn to squishy ruin by her fearsome talons. The remaining spider tried again to bite her, vanishing when it proved fruitless. Now Valerie stood her ground, watching, waiting. "C'mon, asshole. Show your ugly eight-eyed face again..." she murmured.

The moment it popped back into view, she swung her arm at it, throwing that powerful snap into her blow, trying to knock it stupid. It squealed, staggered, and Valerie gave a cry of triumph as she lay into it with her claws, shredding it to pieces as well. "HA! FUCK YOU!" she crowed, slinging the runny guts of the arachnids from her fingers.

Looking about at the huge corpses, she smirked. "Good thing Aunt Marie didn't see this; she'd have had a heart attack." Her aunt freaked out over even harmless things like Daddy Long-Legs. She looked at her heavy, sharp claws. "Kills bugs. Dead." and chuckled at her wan little joke as she resumed her journey.

She eventually stopped, made camp, rested, and was on her way the next morning. Sometime around midday she stopped to eat, her meal interrupted when the sound of movement in the brush drew her attention. Something, a lot of somethings, was approaching. And by the odor on the wind, unclean somethings.

It didn't take long for her to spy them. Huge figures with large, almost camel-like heads, yellow-orange skin, long dark disheveled manes of hair, crude hide garments and primitive clubs for weapons. Eleven in number, she saw one of them was wearing better equipment than the others.

The figure in question had chain mail on with some kind of worn, dirty overshirt, red and bearing the image of a skull upon it. It carried a finely made two-handed axe instead of a crude club. The ugly brutes grunted and murmured to one another, until one saw her and pointed her out.

The rest followed its finger, and with a series of grunts, nods and ugly grins, they advanced on her. The better-equipped one shoved his way past the others. They were all taller than her by nearly a foot. As they ringed around behind what she guessed was their leader, he drew himself up and puffed out his chest.

"My name Gert Hillsplitter. You have food. You share with us." he pointed at her, speaking in the Giant tongue. Valerie frowned. She could just imagine their dim-witted thoughts, but she spoke first anyways. "My name is Valerie Bridgewater. This is my food. Go get your own."

They all chuckled at her defiance and Gert replied, "You share, or we take. Squish you, chop you up." He gave a nasty leer. "Burn you to bits." The others laughed at what must've passed for great oratory among their room-temperature intelligence quotients.

"Try it. We'll see who gets chopped up." spat Valerie, tensing her body. "I kill dragons by myself. You won't be a problem." The brutes were surrounding her now. Their leader said, "Dragons few. We many. You just one. Soon you be dead one. ATTACK!" he roared, raising the axe in his hands.

Valerie gave a roar of her own, unleashing her primal fury and moving in on the leader. Her claws left bloody slashes, but he too gave forth a powerful warcry, sending that huge axe of his whirring in after her. She managed to turn his blows off her rage-hardened hide easily, while the other brutes closed in around her, swinging their clubs.

Dodging and deflecting them all easily, she focused her attention on the leader, tearing into him. A swift uppercut rung his bell, letting her drive her other hand into the top of his head. Latching on, she pulled and stripped much of the meat right off his elongated mug, tearing out his eyes and leaving deep furrows in the skull beneath.

He toppled over, head a bloody, ruined mess, while she slung the gore from her hands and turned to bite at the nearest of the remaining enemies, wounding him. They still attacked despite the vicious death of their leader, but she threw off their blows as she swatted the wounded brute down, then clawed and bit a second, ending him as well.

The remaining eight came in again, but she bulled past their strikes, tearing down a third and badly hurting a fourth. Another fruitless series of blows fell around her as she tore the wounded one's throat out with her teeth, then grabbed a firth and rent his chest asunder, sending his guts onto the ground before his corpse fell atop them.

The smell of blood and shit was thick in the air as she ignored another round of attacks to tear a sixth apart, injure the seventh with her terrible jaws. Then, a sudden wallop from one of the brutes, a lucky swing that managed to get past her defenses. She gave a grunt of pain, turning on him first.

She dug deeply into his shoulder, intent on tearing his arm clean off. But her claws failed to find purchase, and she growled with annoyance, instead finishing him by biting his nose off, spitting the chunk of rubbery gristle in his face as he went down, bleeding to death.

Just as she was feeling the injury dealt to her vanishing, another swing came in and snapped her head to the side. Not so long ago, such a blow would've knocked her out. Now it just made her mad. She should have been focused on taking out the one still wounded. Instead, she went for the one who hurt her again.

This time, she dug her claws into each shoulder of her opponent. Latching on, she tore violently, sending both of his arms flying from the joint, blood spurting from the avulsed areas, before wheeling on the one she'd hurt, gnashing her teeth into his neck to add more arterial spray to the canvas of death around her.

The remaining brute, seeing how ineffective their attack had been, turned to flee. "Oh no!" said Valerie, giving her arm that powerful snap, trying to knock him stupid. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have much of an effect. Despite the bloody furrows on his back, he loped off quickly into the woods.

Pulling out a spear, she took aim and threw, skewering him in the back, sending him to the ground. Fatigue washed over her as the rage left her, and she paused to marvel with a grim admiration of her destruction of the witless brutes before going to retrieve her spear.

The pain of her injuries vanished by the time she returned to the carnage, to look over the dead once more. The leader of the gang drew her eye when she noticed the shiny, silver-white color of the chain mail he was wearing beneath that red skull-adorned vestment. Tearing it off, she gave it a closer look.

The metalwork seemed unusually fine and delicate, yet sturdy when she rapped her fist against it. A link broke readily enough between her claws still, but overall the armor seemed quite light. Maybe she could make use of it, even if it'd be baggy on her smaller frame.

She pulled it off, slipped her arms and head into it. Yeah, kinda loose, but--wait! Seconds after donning it, the armor automatically changed size, shrinking to fit her as comfortably as a T-Shirt. She laughed with amazement, stretched and turned. It was practically weightless on her, fine and sleek.

"Hey, magic armor. Thanks, ugly." she said, giving the dead figure a light kick. She looked at his similarly ornate axe, picking it up and giving it a few swings. She handled it with surprising ease, twirling it between her hands, twisting it with more proficiency than she realized she had.

"Well, I picked up throwing spears easy enough. Why not?" She still felt like her claws were a better weapon, especially since she'd gotten the hang of latching on and tearing things apart. "Maybe I can get something for it." She looked at her old, smaller spears, and gave them a toss, turning their quiver into a holster for the axe instead.

Shouldering the rest of her gear, she resumed her travels, stopping to make camp and rest. The day dawned cloudy, with humidity building. She had a feeling there was rain on the way, if not today, then tomorrow. She kept steady on course, only deviating as needed to gather water. "I need a bigger skin." she noted to herself.

As midday turned to afternoon, a new sound came to her ears. A regular *thock* noise, like someone chopping wood. Moving in its direction, she soon found a clearing ahead, with several stumps where trees once stood. She saw a two-wheeled wooden cart, and nearby what she guessed was a donkey tied to a tree.

What caught her attention, though, was the man. A human man, the first she'd seen in months. From what she could tell he was in his twenties, with lightly tanned skin, short curly dark hair, a moustache and chin beard kept short, moderately tall and seeming to be fairly fit. He wore a long grey tunic and darker trousers with boots, shirt stained with sweat.

Nearby, what she guessed was his son also wore a long grey tunic that came down past his knees, lighter brown hair in curls on his head and a pair of sandals on his feet. He probably wasn't older than ten. "People. Real people." she whispered to herself.

While the man worked at cutting the trunk of a tree into sections with a two-handed axe, the boy was trimming the limbs of branches and leaves with a handaxe, tossing them into one pile and stacking the limbs in another to be bundled. He paused to pick one slender switch up, briefly swing it about and jab at the air with it, playing at swordfighting.

His father saw it and smiled, pausing himself to wipe his brow. He picked up a skin hanging nearby off the side of the cart, took a drink, offered it to the boy, who did likewise. "Back to work, we want to be home afore nightfall." said the man. "Aye, father." replied the boy, and the two returned to their task.

The boy gathered a load of sticks, turned, lifted them onto his shoulders...and stopped, staring right at her. He dropped them on the ground with a clatter, which made the man look up at him. The boy pointed, "Father, look!" The man's eyes followed to her...and a look of horror came upon him as he dropped his axe and leapt to the boy.

He snatched the child up and was off at a run, twisting the boy around his back. "Grab on, son!" he cried urgently, getting his arms under the boy's legs, piggyback fashion. "Father! Peony!" the boy yelled, looking back at the donkey. "Don't look!" was the reply as the man worked to put as much distance between them and Valerie as he could.

Valerie started to raise her hand, call after them...but stopped. What was the point? All they saw was a monster. She looked over at the donkey, which regarded her with a placid expression, flicked its ears and tail, walked around the tree where it was still tied, grazing at some nearby brush.

"Don't have to outrun me, they just have to outrun you, huh?" she said to the beast. From what she'd learned of Trolls, she guessed that was how most probably were. Looking around, she gathered up the axe, the last of the wood and sticks and loaded them into the cart. She went to the donkey, untied it, tugged at the reins.

Hesitantly, the beast followed her. She took up the harness on the cart in her other hand and set out in the direction the two humans had gone. Her pace was slowed, since the donkey wasn't going any faster than it felt like, no matter how much urging she did.

Sometime late in the afternoon she broke through the treeline into open countryside, spying houses in the distance, fields sporting crops, and herds of livestock here and there. Real human civilization, primitive as it might be. She paused to take it all in, then approached the nearest farm.

With the sun starting to sink on the horizon, she cast a long shadow before her. Suddenly, a note from a horn rang out, followed by a second, higher one. It repeated several times, while she stopped and looked around for the source. It seemed to come from a nearby hillside, where a figure was vanishing just as she saw it.

Within a minute's time, a large group of people was approaching, all men as best she could tell. Some wore heavy leather clothing she guessed was armor, others only regular cloth. But all were armed with weapons. Many had bows, several axes and swords, others spears. A few came on horseback.

And among them, several were carrying torches. "Uh-oh." Valerie grimaced. She didn't doubt she could stop them if she had to, but...they were people. She didn't want to kill people, if she could help it at all. Instead she walked to a nearby pen, quickly tied the lead of the donkey to a fence post.

She raised her hands, called out in the Common tongue, "It's alright! Peace! I'm just bringing back the woodcutter's cart and donkey! See?" she pointed at them. A few men paused to draw their bows, loose arrows at her. She ducked, avoided a couple of shots, brushed others aside when they failed to breach her tough skin.

"HEY!" she yelled. "I said peace! I don't wanna fight, but if you attack me, you'll be sorry!" Murmurs flew among the men, some wanting to attack, others counseling caution. No one spoke directly to her for half a minute as she stood there. Finally, one older man stepped forward.

"Why're you here?" he said, half-demandingly. Valerie replied as calmly as she could, "I'm just trying to get to the city of Rookroost. Can you point me in the right direction?" The man pointed, "It's that way. Be warned, you cause trouble and you'll pay!" Valerie nodded, "Yeah. Thanks. I'll go now."

She started to walk off, then thought of something. She moved to the cart, "Just gonna take a little wood for a fire. Okay? I brought it back, saved you the trouble. Figure I earned that much." That seemed to confuse them, but no one objected. So she snatched a log, grabbed a few sticks, waved her arm while clutching them and set out along the dirt lane.

She didn't see other people around, guessing the woodcutter had warned everyone and they'd gathered together, ready to fight. She stuck to the road, until it intersected with a much larger path, bearing ruts in it from what she guessed were carts and wagons. "Guess this is the main highway or whatever."

The sun was almost down as she kept following the road, but soon she saw ahead the great stone walls and rising towers of what had to be the city. Torches were winking their light here and there, and she smiled. "Finally." She hustled up the road, arriving at the main gate to find it securely closed.

Well, she had a suspicion that'd be the case. Distantly, she could hear music from somewhere inside. Some kind of celebration? She looked forward to finding out. It occurred to her she could probably just climb the wall, but that wasn't the kind of impression she wanted to make. Instead she went back down the road a short distance.

Setting up camp, she quickly chopped the log into firewood, got her fire going and dinner cooking. Once she'd feasted, she sat there for a time, listening to the music, still playing from within. "Civilization." she said to herself. "One step closer." She crawled into her tent, and despite her anticipation, was soon fast asleep.

It really said a lot for this magic armor she barely noticed sleeping in it. It didn't feel any bulkier than a thick sweater to her. She crawled from her tent the next morning, looking around at the rising sun, the city walls in the burgeoning daylight. She spotted a figure up there, gave a wave in its direction.

It turned, and then ran off. She sighed and hoped this wasn't going to be another lengthy ordeal of putting up with hostility. "Nothing I can do." she told herself, settling down to feast on the last of her provisions, then brush her hair. She heard the sound of movement from the wall, looked, saw a small group gathered there, pointing in her direction.

She gave them a good wave, smirking to imagine their reaction to the sight of her sitting there like that. "C'mon down, we'll trade beauty tips." she muttered to herself, and chuckled at her joke. Once she was done, she packed up her camp, gathered her things and approached the gate.

The sun was full in the sky now, and as she approached she could see the guards on the gate clearly, wearing metal breastplates covered with a long grey tunic bearing the symbol of what she guessed was a raven. Was rook another name for raven? She seemed to recall it was.

"Ah, y-you there! Halt!" one called down to her. She obliged, looked up at them. "Good morning!" Another cried, "State your business!" Valerie said, "I'm just here looking for work. Not out to eat people or anything like that." That caused some muttering among them again.

"Begone, truknt!" called another, more authoritatively. Valerie tilted her head, "What's that?"

"I said, BEGONE!"

"I got that part. What's the other thing?"

"Truknt! What you are!"

"You mean troll?"

"Yes! Begone, or else!"

Valerie couldn't help but smile. "Or else what?"

The guard speaking gestured to another, who drew up a crossbow, took aim, and fired at her. She just stood there, the bolt poking into her shoulder and bouncing off onto the ground. She picked it up, said "You dropped this." with a smug look.

"That was just a warning!"

"It's not a very good one. Look, go tell whoever's in charge I wanna talk to them."

In reply, several more crossbow bolts flew at her, ineffectually. "I hope you don't have to pay for those." she quipped.

Someone left, while the others just kept watch. She started picking at her teeth with the bolt, making sure they got a good look at her choppers. _Gonna be a show, may as well make the most of it._ After a few minutes, she drew the axe off her back, stood around swinging it lazily, looking out at the view of the lands around in the rising daylight.

A short time later, from over the wall, a deep voice bellowed, "Open the gate!" Valerie turned, putting the axe away as the double doors swung open. Standing there in the archway was a towering figure, a good two feet taller than her. She was immediately reminded of her dream, the one with what she guessed were the giant gods.

This was like the hunched, neanderthal giant she saw. Heavy jowled face, slouched posture, dark hair and piggy little eyes beneath beetled brows, but instead of crude furs he wore a polished metal breastplate, much finer work than those the other guards wore.

A fur-lined blue cloak was attached to it, while he wore what to her eyes were pantaloons of silver and red with well-made black leather boots. A dark blue colored cap with a red feather plume was atop his head. In his hands he carried a spike-headed flail, that was probably meant to be used in both hands, given the handle length.

She saw the heads of throwing spears poking over one shoulder, but more importantly she saw him leer at her. "You was told, troll, ta begone! What part o'that didn't get through yer thick skull?" Guards were gathering around, both behind and above on the walls.

Valerie took in the sight of the giant, the novelty of something bigger than her distracting her before she said, "Are you in charge here?" The giant pointed a fat thumb to his chest as he drew himself up importantly and said, "I'm Lugort, Sheriff o'this town. An' inna name o'the Lord Marshall, I says...BEGONE!"

With the last word of his proclamation, he swung the flail about, grabbing it in both hands before slamming it down on the ground before him with a considerable thump. Valerie took a moment, then replied, "Well, Lugort, my name's Valerie. And I'm not moving from here until your Lord Marshall himself comes to tell me begone."

Lugort gave an uneven, gap-toothed grin in reply. "I figgered ye'd say sumthin' like that." He glanced over his shoulder, "Stoke the fire, boys! We're gonna roast us a troll later!" A number of men laughed or cheered as the giant strode forward confidently.

Valerie gave a nasty smile, raising her arms, showing her claws. "Not if I carve a nice fat pig first." she retorted. Lugort came forward in a rush, giving a battle cry as he threw his considerable weight behind the swing of that flail, giving Valerie a sturdy blow to her side when she tried to dodge away.

She answered with a roar of her own, unleashing her fury and lunging in with her claws, tearing away and biting. He deflected the worst of it, but she could see the surprise in his eyes to find her more fearsome than he'd anticipated. He came back with a series of swings, battering at her, but failing to really get past her rubbery hide.

Her claws tore at him anew, though he managed to keep her teeth at bay. He was weakened, but he pressed in, taking more measured swings this time, giving her another solid thwack. When he saw she was looking more angry than hurt, he stepped back suddenly, throwing down his flail and raising his hands. "Yield! Yield!"

Valerie was sorely tempted to press in, rip the arrogant giant apart, but she instead reached down and took his weapon. Letting her fury flee, she took a couple of deep breaths, then said, "Now...BEGONE!" Nodding fearfully, keeping his hands up, Lugort quickly backed away, the guards stumbling aside to avoid getting stepped on.

Valerie kept the giant's flail in hand as she strode in through the gateway to the city of Rookroost, looking around. The smell of smoke and many other odors was thick in the air as she looked down at the cobbled street. She flicked her toes at the novelty of them, her claws skittering against the stones.

From nearby, the muffled sound of hands clapping and a low chuckling drew her eye to a man wearing a hooded cloak of a dark, wine-red color. Beneath it he had on a suit of metal plate, stained a bright red shade, and wore a tunic of black color, sporting what looked like a red teardrop on the chest.

"Well done!" said the man in a rough voice, coming forward and looking up at her. He was strongly built, with craggy features marred by an angry red scar over one eye down to his lip. Dark brown eyes and dirty blonde hair were revealed by the withdrawal of his hood.

His gloved hand went to his side, resting easily on the handle of a large flanged mace hung on his belt, a small shield buckled to his other arm. "About time someone put that dim-witted lout in his place. We'd be better off if you'd have gutted him like the coward he is, but I suppose the day's still young."

Valerie took the man in, nodding slowly, "Yeah, I don't much like being threatened like that." The man replied, "Nor should you. It's a disservice to a powerful being like yourself, worse still the way he'll run to the Lord Marshall, whining like a kicked dog."

"That gonna be trouble for me?" asked Valerie. The man shrugged, "Perhaps. But I'll speak on your behalf. My word carries weight here." Valerie asked, "And you are?" The man held forth his arm, "Haedor Crownspur, First Blooded of the Church of Erythnul."

Valerie never expected any sort of priest to look like this, but considering everything else she'd seen, it wasn't that much of a stretch. She awkwardly clasped at his arm, "Valerie Bridgewater, formerly a Human of Earth, just trying to find my way home." That made the man's brows raise.

"You were human? I say you're blessed by The Many to have such a form. Oh, the glories I could bring to his name were I so gifted!" mused the man, smiling. Something about it was vaguely unsettling, but Valerie wasn't about to throw a potential ally away just because of a funny look.

"Well...I wouldn't say gifted, but I doubt I'd have lived this long if I hadn't...changed." Haedor pointed at her, "You see? Count your fortunes, don't cast them aside! Come, join me at the House of the Blooded. You've feasted this morn?" Valerie nodded, "Yeah, but I'm out of food, and don't have any money to buy any more."

Haedor set out down one of the streets away from the gate with her in tow. "Worry not, one such as you will have no trouble finding what you need. Are you picky about your feed? I know most Trolls are quite happy to eat whatever they catch, but as you were raised human..."

Valerie made a face, "Yeah, no. I'm not just gonna eat anything I find. I've done pretty well hunting wild game. It helps I can chew up just about anything." Haedor said, "Skin, bones, hide, scales, feathers?" Valerie replied, "And much more. My claws and teeth go through wood, stone and metal like they were soft bread."

"Remarkable! I've never known of a troll that could do such things. You must be truly blessed." As Haedor led her, the folk moving about got out of his way when they saw him approach, doubly so when they spied her. He seemed to take it as no more than his due, and Valerie saw him grin now and again at the looks she got.

"Forgive me, but you seem awfully glad I'm here." observed Valerie. Haedor gave an emphatic nod, "I am. These city-dwellers are so soft and meek most of the time, weak and coddled by stone walls and the stricture of law." His voice was full of disgust as he spoke of such things. "They forget we were all savage once, all clawed for survival once."

He looked at her, "You remind them of the true world beyond our gates, where you must fight for what you want and only keep what you can prevent others from taking. To my eye, that is a blessing." He touched at his face under his scarred eye, pointed his finger at her.

Valerie just nodded, following along, taking in the sights of the city. Everywhere she went, places had signs hung out that depicted their purpose with some sort of emblem. Hammer and tong for a smith, board and saw for a woodworker, and so on. There was lettering on them, but she couldn't make out any of the characters.

It was disturbing for her to realize that she could speak the language, but couldn't read it. Literacy was something that was second nature to her back home. _Great, something else I have to learn._ she griped to herself. Eventually, Haedor led her to the door of a high-roofed stone building. Its door bore the emblem of some sort of forbidding mask.

"What's that?" she asked, as Haedor unlocked the door. "One of Erythnul's symbols. The blood drop is the other. I had it changed to the mask some time ago when mewling fools kept showing up looking for an apothecary." He gave a grim smile, "I was pleased to bleed a few at first, but it grew tiresome when the guard began pestering me."

Valerie ducked to enter, and was immediately struck by the smell of blood and burnt flesh in the air. Low stone benches stood before a wide altar, behind which the forbidding statue of a hulking brute of a being stood, arms raised high with a heavy-headed mace in its hands. A few candles flickered in sconces, and a brazier burned near the altar.

Haedor closed the door behind, while Valerie looked around. Here and there she saw where it looked like there had been carvings on the walls, but all were defaced and destroyed. "What are all these?" she asked. "Remnants of the previous church's decoration. This was a temple of Iuz, not so long ago."

"Thank the Many they were driven off after the Greyhawk Wars. I know the Lord Marshall was pleased to see them run out of town." Haedor went around behind the altar to a side-chamber, returning a minute later bearing a bottle and two metal chalices. He poured a measure of red wine into each, handed one to Valerie.

"Erythnul, favor your servants, that we may do your will and remind the world of its true state." he held his cup up reverently towards the statue, head bowed, then drank. Valerie drank as well, the wine somewhat rough, but still a change from the usual fare of water.

Just then, a knock sounded from elsewhere in the building. "Excuse me." said Haedor, leaving Valerie to ponder the ugly statue and other decorations. Something about this place was not right. It didn't really put her in mind of the corruption she felt in the Beastlands, but there was an unsettling quality, beyond just the smell of it.

She heard another voice speaking, then footsteps as Haedor returned in the company of someone else. It looked like a young woman, pale-skinned and comely, wearing a ruffled long-sleeved shirt and snug-fitting vest over tight trousers and finely made boots. A wide-brimmed hat with some sort of plume was atop her head.

Dark locks were tamed under its brim, and piercing blue eyes took in the sight of her. She stood confidently, one hand on the hilt of some sort of slim sword, like what a fencer might use, a dagger on her opposite hip. "Here she is." said Haedor to the woman, then to Valerie said, "This is Lady Kerlissa Mortoth, the Lord Marshall's daughter."

"My Lady, this is Valerie Bridgewater, the one who defeated Lugort at the gate this morning." The woman gave her an amused smile of luscious red lips, "So I see." she said in a sultry tone. "You made quite an impression on our Sheriff. Unfortunately, we can't just let that humiliation go unanswered."

"But before I forget...here." She reached to a pouch on her belt, removed a small bag inside, handed it to Haedor. "A sacrifice to offer the Many. Fresh from the dungeons this morning." Haedor's eyes lit up, "Ah, excellent! What do we have for him today?" He opened the bag, looked inside.

"The tongue of a blasphemer. Some wandering priest of Pelor, spreading messages of hope and succor in the radiance of the sun god, soliciting donations to establish a church." sneered Kerlissa. Haedor laughed, "A fit end for a liar such as him! I trust the rest is laid in Rookery Square as a warning to other heathens?"

Kerlissa nodded her head, "Of course." Valerie fought to keep a straight face, listening to them talking of this brutality as casually as if they were discussing a church social! "Now, as for you. I've been told you came here looking for work. Not as a brute laborer, I take it?"

"I should hope not! 'Twould be a criminal waste of her destructive power!" interjected Haedor. Valerie coughed, finding her voice as she pushed aside thoughts of them sacrificing some poor person's tongue to this dark god of theirs. "No, I mean mercenary work."

"Good. It just so happens we have a job for you. Of course, you won't be paid, as punishment for your criminal behavior. But complete your task and your sentence will be commuted. It should also go without saying we require you to return Lugort's weapon."

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, okay." She looked about for a moment, then just laid the two-handed flail down on a nearby bench. "So...what'm I supposed to do?" Kerlissa smiled, "What you do best. Slaughter your enemies." She drew the dagger from her hip, began idly picking at her nails with it as she explained.

"We received word this morning that our old fiend Iuz is probing our defenses again. An Orc warband is moving through the north fold, no doubt ready to raid our settlements. Ordinarily they'd be little problem, but our forces are tied up to the south with this Pale Crusade."

Haedor sneered, "Supporting those too weak to defend themselves from blasphemers like followers of Pholtus. I knew this would happen! Ah well, fortunate for us a weapon of the Many has arrived." Kerlissa smiled, "Just so, First Blood." She looked at Valerie, "This is your task. Track them down, kill everyone you find."

"As proof, we require one ear from each orc you slay. Also, we want the heads of their leaders returned to us. If you can't get them to admit who is who, just bring the heads of those who are best-equipped. That will no doubt be them." Valerie stood there, hardly believing these people were serious.

"What if I say no?" she asked. Kerlissa shrugged, "In that case, we'll bring you down before you can exit the city, quarter you and burn your remains." She seemed quite calm and unafraid to make that proclamation. "But I don't think any of us want to waste our time on such a thing. Do you?"

Valerie shook her head. "Okay, I'll do it. But I don't know this land, and I have no clue where the orcs are." Kerlissa said, "I thought you'd say as much. In that case, I'll have a scout waiting for you by the north gate of the city at midday. You should recognize her easily enough. She'll guide you where you need to go."

"What about provisions?" asked Valerie. Kerlissa waved a dismissive hand, "Invoke my name if any peasant tries to stop you taking what you need to eat. So long as you don't rob them blind, I doubt we'll have a problem." She gave a laugh, "Or just eat them, if it suits your fancy!"

Valerie grimaced, saying nothing, but nodded. "Now be about your task. And know this: if you decide to run off and abandon us, I'll have a bounty put upon your head so large every sellsword in the Northern Reaches will be out to collect." Kerlissa smiled smugly with that proclamation.

It grated on her to be talked to like that, but Valerie knew she had little choice. "Good day, Haedor. Lady." She went to the front door, while behind her Haedor went to the altar, preparing to sacrifice the tongue he'd been brought. Once outside, she shook herself, glad to be out of the presence of these blood-crazed people.

The thought of killing for hire didn't bother her so much as the idea of them murdering someone for having a religious view other than their own, especially taking such joy in the notion! She felt unclean having associated with them. But she had been warned. "Mite rough doesn't begin to describe it, Agner." she muttered.

Back on the street, she looked to the sky. Fortunately, the sun was clear enough she could figure out which way was north, and start her way across town to find the north gate. As she wandered, she saw some decorations up here and there, signs of open gatherings near the remains of bonfires.

"Guess there was a celebration here last night." No one seemed to be cleaning it up, though. Maybe it was still going on? She had no time to really ponder it. Moving through the lanes of the town, she was given a wide berth by those who saw her. Whatever else was about, it seemed trolls were still a rare sight.

Reaching the town center, she came upon what must've been Rookery Square, for upon a grassy park she saw dozens of the black-feathered birds milling about. She also saw, hung prominently around, the elongated metal bar prisons holding the corpses she presumed were those belonging to lawbreakers.

One seemed relatively fresh, and given the blood on his face she guessed he was the priest they'd spoken of. She shook her head in disgust at the sight, moving away from the grisly spectacle of the now-eyeless corpse. The smell of the decaying dead lingered, even above the other unpleasant odors hereabout.

She found respite in the odors coming from a bakery, at least, but that was soon lost among the others again as she made her way to the north end of town. It took a bit of side-trekking, but she did find her way around to the north gate, where the doors were open. A few travelers were entering, others leaving.

Passing through the gateway, she looked around to spy a very large wolf with a rich black pelt, much like the giant she'd battled with back in the Beastlands. Only this one was fitted with a saddle, and nearby was an even stranger sight. Judging by what Agner had told her, she guessed this being was a Gnoll.

It - or rather she - was close to seven feet tall, with a yellow-brown pelt covered in dark spots. Overall humanoid in body shape, she had a hunched posture with a hyenalike head, crowned in stiff, spiky dark hair running down the back of her neck and under the metal-studded brown leather tunic she wore.

Judging by its fit, she had not one but three pair of breasts, a heavy leather kilt around her hips and leather shinguards on her animalistic lower legs. She stood on the balls of her feet, dark eyes watchful, ears alert. A faded green cloak gathered around her shoulders, and she carried a longbow on her back with a pair of axes at her waist.

When she spotted Valerie, she raised a hand up and approached, surprisingly graceful for such an awkward-looking build. Her voice had a soft, growling edge to it when she spoke. "Ho, there. You're the orc-slayer I was told to meet?" Valerie nodded, "You're the scout?" The Gnoll gave her own nod.

"I'm Yena Battlehowl, a Ranger of the Shalm, sworn member of the Monstrous Brotherhood."

"I'm Valerie Bridgewater. Formerly a Human of Earth."

Yena cocked her head to the side in a very doglike fashion, "You were a Genasi?"

"Dunno, what's that?"

"Guess not. They're Humans who have Genies or other Elemental spirits for ancestors."

"Yeah, no. I was just plain old human. Now I'm a troll."

Yena shrugged, turned and clicked her tongue. The big wolf ambled over to her, and she rubbed its mane fondly. "This is Nightfang. Say hello, boy." The wolf looked up at Valerie, who smiled and held out her hand. The wolf sniffed at it, shook his head and sneezed. Yena gave her a toothy grin, "Good enough. Ready to travel?"

Valerie nodded, and Yena climbed into the saddle. She set her mount into an easy walk down the road. Valerie said, "So how many orcs are we talking about, here?" Yena replied, "My last count, a hundred or more. All warriors, no females or children."

That gave Valerie pause. She thought they meant more like a dozen, maybe two. Fighting that many enemies at once? She wasn't sure she could hold them off, especially if they had plenty of ranged weapons. "How're they armed?" Yena said, "Two-handed axes, longbows. Most of them are in leather armor, some have breastplates."

Valerie remembered well the pain of those plant-bugs and the hail of needles they generated. Of course, that was before her skin started to harden during her battle-rages, but those only lasted so long. "Good thing I have armor." Yena nodded, "I noticed. Is that mithril?" Valerie shrugged, "I dunno. It's very light, I know that."

"Might well be. Where'd you get it?" Valerie replied, "I took it off some kind of dead brute. Taller than me, walks really hunched, great big head, yellow-orange skin?" Yena said, "Sounds like an Ogre. Did it speak your tongue?" Valerie nodded, "Took this axe I have from it, too."

"Was it wearing a tabard of some kind?" At Valerie's blank look she added, "A tunic, over the armor?"

"Yeah. Red, with a skull on it."

"Hmph. Thought so. Sounds like an Imperial soldier, same as these Orcs we're after."

"Speaking of, is there any chance they might split up?"

"Not unless they're raiding a settlement. They'll try and get on all sides then, keep anyone from escaping. Otherwise they stick together. The Empire can at least manage to drill that much sense into 'em."

"So what exactly is this Empire, anyway?"

"The Empire of Iuz? It's an Empire, based far west of here, but spread all across the Northern Reaches. At one time they ruled everything from Tenh across the Bandit Kingdoms and the Rover-lands to the other side of the Fellreev, at the end of the Greyhawk Wars."

"Yeah? What happened?"

"Some holy cleric banished all the fiends Iuz had under his control with a powerful relic, which weakened their hold. Then infighting with their allies at Stonehold, followed by more war with the Brotherhood and remnants of the Legion, a revolution in Tenh, uprising of the Nomads of the Barrens, the rallying of the Bandit lords...they couldn't hold on."

Valerie nodded, "Too big for their britches, as we say back home."

Yena gave a literal bark and cackle of laughter, "Well said!" she grinned, "I'll have to remember that one."

Valerie sketched a little bow, smirking. Strange as she looked, Valerie felt more comfortable around Yena than she did with the two humans she'd met earlier, by far. A nearby clattering of bells and muttered baa's drew her eye to a small herd of sheep being driven by a rather ugly-looking man. Or was it a man?

He had a greyish skin tone, his features heavy and his nose practically skull-like in shape. Dressed in a long tunic and wearing a wide-brimmed hat woven from plant fibers of some kind, he looked at them on their approach, whistled for one of his dogs and commanded it to drive the herd further away.

Valerie saw Nightfang's great shaggy head following the sheep's movements, but he kept walking on the same course. She nodded towards the sheep, "We should get one for our dinner. Lady Kerlissa said to use her name for whatever provisions we need."

Yena gave a sneer, "She cares nothing about her people. I'll handle this." She raised her voice to call, "Ho! Shepherd!" while bringing Nightfang to a halt. The man approached, "Good day." he said in a slightly gruff voice. Yena reached to her belt, "I want to buy two of your sheep." She removed four golden coins from her pouch and held them out.

The shepherd took the coins, pocketed them in his own purse, and whistled again, having the dogs drive the herd closer again. He looked them over, and coaxed two out with his crook. The animals bleated, uncomfortable near the giant wolf, and the sheepdogs were keeping a very close eye on the black lupine.

Valerie stepped close, reached down and drove her clawed finger through the skull of each sheep, then picked them up. Yena nodded to the rear of her saddle, and Valerie slung them over while Yena secured them with a length of rope. "Good Richfest to you." said the shepherd, and left them.

Once they were out of earshot, Valerie asked, "What was he? I never saw anyone like that before."

"Half-Orc, most likely. There's more of them around here in the North, where Orcs and men mingle."

Valerie made a face to try and imagine what an Orc must look like, if a Half-Orc was that homely. "Sorry, I don't have any money."

"No fleas on my pelt. I'm sure there's coin to be made on plunder from the Orcs."

"Yeah? Like how much?"

"Could be hundreds, could be thousands, depending if they have any magic goods or not. I'll help you sort it out, if I get a half-share of the loot."

"How much is that? What's a share worth?"

"We split it between us, half and half. But since you're doing all the fighting, I'll just take a half-share for my part."

"So...a quarter of the loot. Okay, I guess that's fair."

The two traveled for a time, before Yena directed them down a farm lane, then along some faint trail, and at last into the open countryside. Looking about, Valerie thought she saw a dwelling here and there, but not like she had closer to the city. "I guess folk stay close to the city for protection?"

"Protection, some. Profit, others. This land is as much brigands as it is farmers. One bad season and they're on the hunt for whoever passes through."

Valerie could scarcely imagine life like that. Even lost in the wilderness as long as she was, she still thought of civilization from an Earthly mindset. "The lords don't care?" Yena gave a snort, "Only if they don't get tribute or someone's picking their own purses. They don't call them Bandit Kingdoms for nothing."

"Sounds like a poor life to me."

"Pretty good life, if you're a sellsword. No telling the coin the Brotherhood's made off them warring with the Empire, Stonehold, Tenh...Hells, one another."

"So that's what the Monstrous Brotherhood is?"

"Aye. It was founded by our kind, for our kind."

"You mean the savage races?"

"That depends who's doing the calling, but more or less."

"What's it take to join?"

"Be one of our kind, be willing to pay your dues, don't be completely crazy, and you can be an associate in no time."

"Right, what's that, opposed to a...sworn member, you said?"

"Means you have a place in our halls if you need it, and you can hire onto jobs we give notice of that aren't brethren-only."

"Brethren, as in members? How do you go about making that step?"

Yena nodded, then replied, "Prove to us you can follow orders and you're not likely to get us dead if you go on a job with us. Doing some work and getting letters of note from employers, especially alongside a sworn member, helps a lot there."

"Sounds like a trade union back home."

"Dunno about that. But we are like a guild."

"I think that's about the same thing. So do you have ranks and things too?"

"Among the brethren, yeah. Sergeants, senior members who can lead small groups on jobs. Lieutenants, who can actually make contracts for jobs and command our forces on big operations. They're also the ones in charge of our garrisons. And there's the Captain, who's in charge of it all."

Valerie digested that. Somewhere between a union and the military. She smirked, kinda like joining the Mafia. "So what happens if you betray the Brotherhood?"

"Depends. If you do something by accident, probably just get a black mark. Not likely many will work with you then, but you might earn trust back. You do something on purpose, you're dead and banned."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Not really. You can come back from the dead."

That made Valerie stop in her tracks. "You're joking."

Yena shook her head, "Nope. Seen it happen myself. Just takes the right kind of magic."

Valerie shook her head wonderingly at that revelation, "Every time I think I'm getting a handle on this place..."

Yena shrugged, "Not like a troll needs to worry much about that. Stay away from fire or acid and you'll get better."

Valerie nodded, deciding to keep the fact she healed from even fire a secret for now. Everyone kept talking about roasting her. Better to let them think that'd work. She continued on, the pair stopping around midafternoon to rest. Yena produced a wooden bowl from her saddle and filled it from a water bag.

She too drank while Nightfang lapped up his serving eagerly. Valerie looked around, "I haven't seen any streams. Aren't we gonna run out of water?" Yena shook the water bag, "No, this is magic. Never runs out of water." Valerie raised her brows, "That's handy."

Yena nodded, "We have stores of items like that, brethren can check them out as needed for a job. Same as this." She patted another pouch on her belt, "This makes enough rations to feed someone for a day, each day. Long as you don't mind dry, tough bricks of meat to gnaw on, you won't starve if you have one."

"I'm used to hunting for food anyways." replied Valerie. "Fresh meat's sure to be better."

"Oh, it is. But around here it tends to belong to someone. In hard times, they're fair game, but the Brotherhood's judged by what we all do."

"Yeah, I get that. So what if someone attacks a member or associate?"

"Attack a member, there's gonna be a reply in blood. Associates, it depends. You got a blood feud with someone, we better be told before you try and join. We find out you lied, you're on your own."

Valerie thought on that while they rested, then got underway again. "You think there's work for me in the Brotherhood?"

Yena gave a cackling laugh, "Big and strong as you are? If there's not, I'm out of a job too. You made the Sheriff show his belly, in short order from what I hear. That's no small feat. He once crushed a street riot all on his own, in maybe a half-dozen swings of his flail."

"Huh. Well, I like what I hear of this Brotherhood so far. And if the others are anything like you, Yena, they sound like a lot better company than that First Blood guy and the Lord Marshall's daughter."

Yena spat, "They're almost as bad as my own kind, if not worse. That murder-god of theirs is every bit as vile as Yeenoghu."

"Who's he?"

"The Demon Prince of Gnolls. Legends say his blood made the first of our kind from the hyenas who fed upon the carrion he left in his wake while walking the Material Plane."

"That's a charming story."

"I renounced him and his ways years ago. When I die, my spirit will go to the sacred grove of Obad-Hai."

"What about being brought back?"

"Even magic can't bring you back once you die of old age. Sooner or later, your time ends. Unless you embrace some foul undead existence."

"Like what? A vampire?" Valerie half-joked.

"Aye. Or something spellcasters can become, called a Lich."

Valerie sighed, "I wish I could be kidding about vampires."

"Wish away. But it doesn't change what lies before."

Valerie nodded her agreement, and the pair continued their journey until the sun began to set. Then they found an agreeable spot to make camp. It was nice to have an extra set of hands helping, even though Yena had to tend to Nightfang first.

Before long, both sheep were skinned and butchered. Nightfang seemed quite happy with his portion of meat, bones and entrails, though Yena did snatch a leg bone for herself, crunching it and gnawing on the marrow with every sign of enjoyment. It made Valerie smile, even if she herself had done much the same in the past.

Watching the moons rise, Yena commented, "Soon the Handmaiden will leave until the next festival time."

Valerie looked, "You mean the smaller moon?"

"Aye. It only appears four times a year, during the festival weeks. Now is Richfest, the Midsummer Festival."

"So there's four weeks of festivals a year. A week is...seven days?"

"Aye. And twelve months of four weeks each."

Valerie did some quick math on a piece of wood. "That's...three hundred sixty-four days a year."

"So I hear. But I've also heard something happened years back that made the year one day longer."

"How'd that happen?"

"Something to do with a shift in the planes. I don't know what."

Valerie thought of Agner then, telling her something had changed on the Prime Material Plane. The same thing? Maybe. She'd have to follow the Dwarf's advice and ask a sage sometime.

"So what are the days of the week?"

"Starday, Sunday, Moonday, Godsday, Waterday, Earthday and Freeday." Before Valerie could ask, she added "And the yearly cycle goes Needfest, Fireseek, Readying, Coldevert, Growfest, Planting, Flocktime, Wealsun, Richfest, Reaping, Goodmonth, Harvester, Brewfest, Patchwall, Ready'reat and Sunsebb."

Valerie gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry. There's a lot I don't know."

Yena shrugged, "It helps pass the time." She had settled down onto a hide blanket, resting near the supine form of her mount. The two dined, relaxed, enjoying the balmy summertime weather by the fire. Eventually Yena gave a large yawn, her canine tongue curling between her jaws. "Time to rest."

Valerie half-rose and turned to crawl inside her tent, "See you in the morning."

"Aye. Sleep well."

The rising dawn brought Valerie forth to discover Yena awake and tending to her wolf, brushing at his coat while he gnawed on another bone from the sheep. "Morning." she greeted the Gnoll, stretching and flexing before settling to break her fast. "Good day. We've had our feast, take what's left." invited Yena.

The Gnoll soon finished, and drew forth the axes at her belt. She went through a series of drills with them, and Valerie watched the skillful handling of both at once. Nightfang did too, rising and coming forward, bouncing on his forelimbs, play-biting at Yena, growling and tugging at her arm.

He could've bitten it off with those powerful jaws, but he seemed as gentle as a baby with her. Yena smiled, ruffled his ears, to the wolf's delight. "Alright, enough." she chided him, and he sat watching until she was done. "How long have you had him?" asked Valerie.

"Six years. I found him lost as a pup, raised him myself." Yena explained while getting the saddle and bags ready. Valerie set to packing up her equipment. "Is that something most Gnolls do?" Yena shook her head, "Most Gnolls are savage beasts, either because they want to be, or fear what'll happen if they don't behave that way."

"That how you ended up in the Brotherhood? You weren't like them?"

"More or less." Yena's reply was curt, and Valerie took it as a sign she didn't want to go into it. "So which way are the orcs?" she asked instead.

"North and east. I hope we'll meet them by midday."

Once they were both ready, the pair set out into the rising sun, the day promising to be humid. Crossing the increasingly rocky, open plains, Valerie saw a few animals about, but it seemed the three of them were largely alone. Late mid-morning, though, she heard a distant rumble, and looking around, caught sight of a splash of red on the horizon.

Pointing it out, Yena peered and said, "Likely tell that's them." She spurred Nightfang to trot closer, circling to the west. Soon they could both make out the skull upon the red banner, and a few others like it amongst the marching throng. "There they are."

Valerie nodded, feeling anticipation tighten her guts. "There they are." she echoed, taking a deep breath.

"Nervous?"

"A little. I dunno how well I can hold up against that many archers."

"I'll keep to the west. If you get in trouble, flee my way. I might be able to draw off enough to let you escape. If we must split, make for the forest on west and track it south. I'll find you. If the worst happens to me, find the Brotherhood's Company Hall in Rookroost and let them know my fate."

"I will. Thank you, Yena."

"Good hunting, Valerie. Remind these orc mongrels why giants are to be feared."

This was it. Valerie took a deep breath, trying to calm the voice nagging in her head that this was crazy, she should just run off, disappear into the woods and not look back. She could do that, sure. But it would mean going back to survival. Not trying to find a way home. Just living day to day. She didn't want that anymore.

"One step at a time." she muttered to herself, getting in motion, building stride. "One orc at a time." she told herself as she broke into a jog. She could see them now, brutish grey-skinned humanoids with ears more like wolves than Elves, as she'd expected, their skull-like noses pushed into their faces.

As the first cries in what she guessed was their language started directing attention her way, she yelled "OVER HERE! YOU WANNA FIGHT? YOU FIGHT ME!" More voices rose from Orcs who, much as Yena had said, were wearing better armor than the leather-clad masses. A line of them advanced, drawing their axes.

The others turned, keeping in their formation of rows of 11, 5 soldiers to either side of what she guessed was a higher-up in their rank. Every two ranks, a lone orc stood behind the row leader, save for the furthest rank, where two stood. In addition, three more orcs with red capes, at the fourth, seventh and final ranks stood. Officers, she guessed.

All of them drew forth bows and arrows, then with a last command, the hundred-plus orcs not advancing let loose a literal storm of arrows into the sky, flying at her. She heard them hissing like a cloud of snakes, tensed herself, tried to weave around and avoid them. They fell against her like a sudden rain shower, pelting her head to toe.

But when it was over, only a couple had actually done her any harm, and she felt those wounds close up almost instantly. She looked at all the orcs arrayed before her, swiping arrows from her mail shirt. She saw many surprised expressions staring back...and she grinned.

"HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!" she cried, a savage delight filling her as she came forward, swiping her claws at the one in the breastplate before her. She battered him around, as the Orc leaders began shouting orders. She heard them back there, drawing their bows for a new volley, but her eyes were on the ones swarming around her.

As one of the soldiers came in to attack, she easily cut him down with a swipe of her claws. The others surrounded her, but her quick reflexes and alertness kept her from being overwhelmed by their numbers. Their blows cut the air, but none could break her defense as the arrows filled the air again.

Pelted by them, her initial fears seemed unwarranted as again, any injury they brought was minor, vanishing in seconds. One good blow from her claws felled the leader before her, while a second swipe cut an orc's guts open, and a third lost the top of his head to her teeth. Spitting out the bone and brains, she laughed at them all.

One of the soldiers around her caused her a minor wound with his axe, while the arrows stung at her harder, whether luck or developing accuracy. Still, it wasn't serious yet, and she concentrated on the ones around her, her regeneration working at the injuries. Three more orcs fell.

The four still around battered at her, but a sudden spike of pain at her neck made her cry out. An arrow had pierced deep there, adding a deeper wound to the injuries she'd taken. She felt a brief spike of fear, and saw the Orcs cheer and point at her, the wound she'd taken.

"NOT. OVER. YET!" she cried with slow emphasis, knocking down three more Orcs, advancing a few steps towards their line. With another cry of orders, the next eleven dropped their bows, drew axes and advanced, a commander behind them following.

As they surrounded her, she managed to kill one warrior on his advance, but their commander stepped in to fill the gap, boxing her in while the next volley flew. The injuries were minor enough she started to recover slightly, turning her attention to the commander who'd just closed in.

He proved to be a more canny opponent than she'd anticipated, avoiding one set of claws and her teeth, taking a single blow that brought only a grunt of pain and a savage grin. With loud battlecries, the orcs attacked, the two leaders landing blows, cutting at her as arrows jabbed at her.

More wounds dealt, Valerie saw the ferocity of the orcs had to be curbed. Her claws flew in, latched on and tore open the head of one of the orc commanders, her teeth biting into the other. Wounded, he came on with the rest, one blow from a soldier behind digging at her hide and arrows stabbing into her flesh.

The injuries were slowly starting to build on her, an increasing sensation of itching all over while she tore down the second commander with her claws, killing a soldier with her teeth. Another axe blade dug into her side as the arrows fell, blood seeping into her white toga, staining it further when she dropped three more warriors.

The other six failed to harm her, but fresh arrow wounds piled on while she cut one warrior down, literally swatted another's head clean off his shoulders to bounce back into the massed ranks of the warband, then tore a third's throat out, snarling her defiance towards them.

Distracted by her brutality, the answering volley caused her only a small injury, letting her recover just a bit while downing the last of the second line of orcs to face her. She waded forward past the fallen, bodies and arrows alike. "COME ON! COME AND DIE!"

Commands were shouted, and the foremost rank exchanged bows for axes while closing in, the remaining seven withdrawing slightly to keep apace with her movement. Swarming in, Valerie held back trying to swat one of the soldiers, instead striking at their leader when he closed.

Arrows fell, but she barely noticed them as she lashed out, the leader ducking one claw blow but catching the second, downed and soon followed by a soldier, thanks to her teeth. But just then, pain exploded as three arrows struck, two near her heart and one in her neck, sinking deep into her flesh, making her cry out in pain.

The shock made her head swim, and the orcs roared to see her stagger like that. Fear surged in her again, but she couldn't afford to let it take hold. Her fury was there, ready to be unleashed, but she knew she it might not last. Grimly she tore into the soldiers nearby, killing three more.

Thankfully the next volley caused her negligible injury, letting her heal while she cut down three more soldiers. It wasn't to last, as another arrow caught her in the neck, leaving her feeling greatly weakened. _Now,_ her instincts told her. _NOW!_ Her head snapped up, and she felt the energy surge inside her as she roared her fury.

Two more soldiers fell, the third managing to avoid getting his skull bitten in half. The fourth line of orcs made their advance, the first of the red capes slowly closing, still firing his bow. One of the leaders lingered out of her reach with his bow as well, while the others surrounded her.

The one leader who closed in ducked her blow, while the rest of the massed ranks threw a fresh hail of arrows skyward. Minor wounds, still licking away at her reserves of strength, were endured while the leader and a soldier went down under her assault.

Into the gap came the other leader and the red-cloaked commander, the latter of whom bore the brunt of a swat from her with a smug expression. "You go down soon, Troll." he said, as another arrow struck into her chest, punching at a lung. She grabbed his head and ripped it into a bloody mess, "You first." she snarled, biting at the other leader.

An axe dug at her back again, further tapping her strength. The remaining leader was rent asunder from his weapon by loss of an arm, while another soldier fell to the bloodstained earth. The next barrage allowed a small respite in pain as she slew two more soldiers, a third ducking out of the way of her claws.

She weathered the following assault well, feeling trickles of vitality return while she stole it from three more orcs. But another salvo brought yet more pain in the face of three fresh deaths for the warband. The next line of orcs advanced, their leader taking a blow from her in stride as again she felt a respite from injury in the face of their attacks.

She tore the leader apart, slaying another soldier, while an axe cut at her leg and more arrows pierced her hide. Her fury peaked, beginning to ebb while three more soldiers went down. Another respite in the ongoing saga of pain the orcs were writing in her flesh came.

It spurred her to give a fierce cry and swat another orc's head clean off into their ranks as two more dropped under her rage. But a sudden jolt of pain sent her reeling as one of the soldiers drove his axe clean into her back, right near her spine. She staggered again, feeling almost spent.

Whirling, she slew the guilty orc and two more besides, still slowly advancing, even as the orcs drew back and the next line advanced. One of the leaders lingered to shoot still while the rest surrounded her. She injured the other leader, finding another break in the litany of pain.

Another axe wound ended that, sapping again at her energy. The other leader came in, ducking her blow, but dying to her follow-up strikes as she removed a leg from him, biting another's arm off to bleed out. The smell of it was like a fog around her, thick and coppery.

Another arrow slammed into her thigh, leaving a more serious bleeding wound, wearing at her further while she put three more orcs onto the killing field. Her regeneration worked furiously at her injuries, her primal fury nearly spent. Fatigue was about to slam into her like a brick wall, but she kept on, determined to down every orc she could.

Two more went down, followed by the last three, when her adrenaline crashed. As the next line advanced, its red-caped commander shouted, "It ends now!" His bravado was answered by a mighty blow that rocked him into silence, Valerie glaring tiredly. "Not. Yet." she growled.

Worn thin, she kept her feet, throwing herself as fiercely as she could at the commander, her claw slipping right through his defenses and tearing his head off, sending it flying into the remaining third of their forces. Caught off-guard by that, she followed it with a tearing and biting of the other leader's head, spitting his brains defiantly at the soldiers.

Slowly, her wounds began to heal as two more fell, followed by another three. But then another shock hit when an arrow caught her right in the forehead, making the world swim in her vision. Tired and weak, she decided the time was upon her to retreat, see if she could gather her strength before attacking them anew.

As she fled away, the shouts from their leaders urged the orcs to continue shooting, arrows pecking at her, until a last shot finally slammed into her back, piercing her heart, sending her tumbling into blackness. She snapped awake, but instead of rising, remained still. She heard the orcs cheering, thinking her incapacitated still.

She heard a group approaching, remained still and quiet as her wounds healed up. Just as they grew close, she sprang to her feet. It was the last of the red-caped commanders, with his three leader cohorts and a line of soldiers. All had their axes at the ready. The commander shouted to the rest back at the battlefield.

The leaders and soldiers came in, ready to finish the job they'd begun, while the others got into line and came in pursuit. One of the leaders earned a solid cuff from her in closing, as she was surrounded once again. She quickly tore him to bits, gnashing into the second leader.

Two blows from their axes brought fresh pain, but she was undeterred, swatting the third leader as he closed in. She tore down the second leader, bit the third, as their commander came in. She clawed at him, but he gave back with a chop of his axe, wounding her along with one of the soldiers.

A fresh fall of arrows came in then, adding their pain to the other wounds, but Valerie merely grinned nastily, grabbing into the last of the red-caped commanders, tearing his guts out before biting the third leader, finishing him as well. Seeing their commander drop, the orcs began to murmur, but new cries arose from the remaining leaders.

She weathered their attacks, slaying the last leader near her, along with a soldier. One of the remaining orcs near her struck with his axe, but she barely noticed. He did die just after, along with two others, while the fight raged on. Blows landed, but they only hurt.

Her answering strikes sent three more to whatever reward awaited them in the hereafter. Try as they might, their numbers had dwindled now. She was consistently healing more than they could harm her. Three more went down, and she turned on the remaining...quarter? of their forces.

Fresh exhortations arose from the three remaining leaders, the soldiers looking about. A cry arose once more, as bows were thrown down and axes drawn. In a sudden rush, they came forward, all at once, trying to mob her. She slew one of the leaders, as a soldier's axe bit deep into her side.

A second leader fell then as their blows rained down upon her, another axe injuring her. But it couldn't stop her downing the last of their leaders. The soldiers didn't seem to notice, as they swarmed around her, swinging away. Her blows felled them one by one, despite their attempts to stop her.

A few last wounds were taken, but they couldn't slow her down enough until, at last, the final pair of orcs fell to her claws. The sudden silence was filled by her heavy breathing, blood thundering in her ears. She slumped atop the mound of dead strewn about, worn to nearly nothing.

Above, the clouds continued their march across the blue summer sky, oblivious to the violence that had occurred here. Slowly, some of her energy returned, though she still felt worn, having never fought that hard for that long, trollish endurance or not.

The sound of metal and leather jingling and creaking drew her attention when she saw Yena riding up, the Gnoll looking about at the carnage with widened eyes. "You really did it." she said, and broke into a toothy grin. Valerie sat up, groaning and brushing at the remaining arrows still in her armor and clothes.

"I did. Hurt like a motherfucker, but I did." She got to her feet, feeling the blood covering her, sticky where it soaked into her toga and even her hair. "First thing I want when we get back is a hot bath." She drew a deep breath, sighed as she looked around. "Ugh. Now we have to collect the bounty."

"And the heads. Come on, let's dig out their leaders and get to work." said Yena. Of course, a couple of the leaders had gotten their heads smashed to pulpy ruin, so there was no bringing that back. But sorting through them, they collected most of them. Yena stripped off their armor and weapons, dug around to gather their finely made longbows.

"Ought to be a nice payday from all this. Especially if any are magic." the Gnoll commented. They loaded them into sacks or bundled them together with rope. Then Valerie began dragging the dead orcs into a pile, making sure they took one right ear from each corpse, or loose head in a couple of cases.

Yena located an awl and bit of leather cord to string them all on, making for a grisly trophy along with the sack of heads. It was on into the afternoon by the time they'd finished, but both agreed they'd be best off to make some time back south. Before they left, Valerie took up the Iuzite war banner they'd had and planted it in the mound of the dead.

Back down the road south, they made camp, and Valerie washed herself off as best she could with Yena's endless water supply. Her toga was ruined with bloodstains by now. But it wasn't the most suitable garment, anyways. She rather liked the look of the heavy kilt-like leather skirt Yena wore. Something like that would probably be better.

"I need to see a tailor, too." she noted. "We can take care of that back at the Company Hall. After what you did today, they'd be mad not to let you join up." replied Yena. The Gnoll had taken a small detour to hunt up a couple of rabbits for their dinner, and they feasted well before Valerie went into her tent to collapse.

The sun was well into the sky before she awoke, stiff and sore still from the previous day. Yena greeted her with freshly caught quail on a spit, and once she had food in her and some exercise, she was feeling better. Packed up, they resumed their trek south, returning into the farmland.

By late afternoon, the walls of Rookroost came into view. Approaching the open gates, a guard called, "You there, kell! Truknt! Hold by the gate!" Valerie walked in under the gateway, looking up. "What for?" The guard called, "We're to keep you here until Her Ladyship can arrive."

Yena came in as well, and brought Nightfang to a nearby trough so he could water himself while they waited. It took a little while, but soon enough, Lady Kerlissa arrived in a fancy horse-drawn carriage, all swagger and smiles. "You've returned! I trust the orcs are all dead?"

Valerie just nodded and produced the bag, then the string. Kerlissa's face lit up with delight, as if the ears were fine gemstones on a necklace. "Delightful!" She glanced inside the bag, kicked at it to shuffle the heads about. "What did you do with the bodies?"

"Stacked 'em in a pile and planted their flag atop." Kerlissa beamed anew, "Wonderful! That'll make a fine monument for them to discover. You've lived up to my expectations, troll. As a reward, you are welcome here in Rookroost, by the Lord Marshall's decree."

Valerie sketched a little bow. Kerlissa gathered her trophies and returned to the carriage, shouting "Home, and be quick about it." to the driver. She gave a last smug grin from the window, a wave, and was off. Valerie sighed in relief. "Thank goodness that's over." She looked to Yena, "Show me to the Company Hall?"

The Gnoll mounted Nightfang and led her through the streets, where here and there, tables and fires were being filled with people, food and drink. They stared at the two of them, but none opened their mouths where either could hear. "How much longer's this festival?" asked Valerie.

"Just tonight. Tomorrow is the Starday of Reaping." Yena took them to a compound separated from the rest of the city by a wooden wall, bearing banners by the double doors. Black with gold, the image of what Valerie thought looked like a troll's head biting down on some sort of letters was upon it.

Yena called up, "Open the gate!" A small, crocodilian head peered over the side, large orange eyes taking in the sight of them. Then there was a clatter, and the doors swung open. A pair of orcs, wearing chain mail and tabards like the banners, stood to the sides, spears and shields at hand.

Valerie looked up at the wall to spy the little lizard-like humanoid there, with a stubby tail and red-brown scales. She nodded up, "Is that a Kobold?" Yena nodded, "We have our share in the Brotherhood. Don't let the tales fool you, they're clever and dangerous when they want to be."

Within the walls, several buildings were arranged, one of which Yena rode for, a stables. She dismounted and led Nightfang in, looking to another member, this one human-sized with yellowish skin, wolflike ears sticking from the sides of his head and a nose that was canine-shaped, but a dark blue color.

"Where's the Sergeant?" she asked. The being nodded, "Storehouse." He looked at Valerie with appraisal, then returned to cleaning up the floor. Valerie waited until Yena was done, helping her haul the plunder they'd collected along as they went to another building.

Inside, she guessed it was the storehouse by the shelves of equipment and goods all about. Other, smaller beings, yellow-skinned and similar to the human-sized one she'd seen, moved about, along with the bigger ones and orcs. "Get those supplies loaded! It's not quitting time yet!" barked a voice.

The source was a large, powerfully built figure, similar to the human-sized yellow-skins, but a good foot taller and much more muscular. Wearing a tabard over armor, a wicked-looking spiked mace was at his hip, and a heavy shield across his back. Yena approached him and saluted, "Sir."

The figure saluted in return, "Yena. Report." He looked at Valerie, but said nothing. "Mission accomplished. The warband's been located and destroyed. This is the one who did it, her name's--"

"Valerie Bridgewater." said the one who she assumed was their sergeant. "And all on your own, too?" Valerie nodded, "That's right. They knocked me down once, but I got better." That made the sergeant give a nasty grin. "Yeah, you trolls're bad about that. Still, that's no small task."

"She wants to join up, sir." supplied Yena. "Does she, now?" asked the sergeant. Valerie nodded, "I do. I need work, and this is what I'm cut out for, looks like." The sergeant gave a snort, "Be a waste if you tried grubbing around in the dirt or strong-backing, you ask me. You tell him--"

"Her, sir. Valerie's a her."

"--her what the Brotherhood's about? Our rules?"

"Enough I think she can get started."

The sergeant grunted. "Right. I'm Sergeant Feder Bonegnasher, Master of the Company Hall of Rookroost. As a representative of the Brotherhood, I ask: Do you now swear to abide by Company law in your dealings with us?"

Valerie nodded, "I do."

"Do you bring with you any blood feuds or enemies we should know about?"

"None I know of."

"Then by the authority given me from the chain of command, I recognize you as an associate of the Monstrous Brotherhood Mercenary Company. We'll handle paperwork and fees later when we get to Clawhold."

Yena perked up, "Clawhold? We're pulling out of Rookroost?"

Feder gave a curt nod, "Orders came in this morning. Pack up and head north. We leave on the morrow." He looked at the bags the two were carrying, "Plunder from your job?" Yena nodded, "Yessir." He thumbed towards the door, "Get it stowed on the wagons. Any lightfingers get clever thoughts, they can talk to Old Maggie."

He patted the mace at his side with a nasty grin, then said "Dismissed!" before turning back to oversee further gathering of supplies. The two went around to where the wagons were and did as told. Valerie felt a certain excitement at the proposition. She'd get out of this crazy place. But would she be exchanging it for a crazier one?

Only time would tell. Looking at Yena she said, "Now, about a hot bath." The Gnoll gave a small cackle of laughter, "Come on." The two made their way to another building, this one a barracks. Inside, they set to heating water over a hearth, filling a wooden tub. As they did, Valerie asked about the yellow-skinned beings.

"They're all goblinkin. The smallest are Goblins, the man-sized ones Hobgoblins, and the ones like the sergeant are called Bugbears. Don't ask me why. Maybe it has something to do with the human name for 'em: Buchveer." Valerie shrugged, "I guess it makes as much sense as truknt and...what did they call you?"

"Kell." said Yena. Once the tub was full, Valerie stripped out of her garments, dunked her head into it, got her hair thoroughly wet and set to washing it with the soaps she'd been given. Yena puzzled at them, "Where'd you get those?" Valerie told the Gnoll of her trip to Elysium and experiences there.

"That does sound wonderful. I'd love to try a hot bath like that, where you can swim about." Once Valerie had gotten scrubbed as best she could, Yena washed at her own body. It was rather strange to see those multiple breasts of hers exposed, but the Gnoll seemed no more shy of them than Valerie felt of her own form anymore.

When they were done, Yena searched about briefly, locating one of the Kobolds. It came over to their equipment, and wove its clawed hands in the air, muttering something under its breath. Then it pointed at the pile, and right before her eyes, she saw all the blood and stains vanishing from everything!

"So that's how they did it back in Elysium!" she marveled, her gear returned to pristine state. Yena gave a grin, "Magic is mighty handy sometimes." The Kobold gave a toothy grin, waved and left the two to redress. "It'll be time for dinner." said Yena. They went to another part of the compound, where a dining area and bar were set up.

The various members had assembled, and from the kitchen area came others bearing bowls and trays of food. It was largely some sort of stew with bread and cheese. Compared to what the Guardinals ate, it was rather bland, but Valerie gobbled her portion up eagerly, washing it down with a mug of ale.

Once she was full, she felt ready to get some more rest. They'd be off in the morning for this Clawhold place, and she wanted to be well-prepared for the tip. Yena escorted her back to the barracks, where they gave her a couple of bedrolls to settle upon in an open space near the hearth. Despite others filtering in, she was soon fast asleep.


	10. Monstrous Motherhood

She found herself laying within a pool of light, upon a cold, hard, smooth surface. She tried to move, but could not. Around her, she saw robed, hooded figures all taking up what seemed to be small glass rods. A faint series of tinkling noises, like someone stirring a glass of liquid, then she felt points of burning discomfort on her skin.

Her arms, legs were being seared in slow strokes of something. She soon saw it was the figures' doing, as they dipped those rods in something and were drawing on her skin. The irritation grew, the frustration at being unable to move no matter what she willed her body to do.

After what seemed to take forever, they had burned her from head to toe with those glass rods dipped in what she guessed was acid. The figures retreated, then another one in more ornate-looking robes arrived. This one had a small pouch that was opened, and from within some sort of silvery, glittering dust was being sprinkled upon her.

A low murmuring came from the figure, some incomprehensible but repeated chant. It took only a few minutes before this was done. With a sudden thrusting upward of its hands, she felt her skin itch fiercely all over, as the sensation of something grainy digging at her burns came. Inwardly, she screamed.

Then she felt a force wrap about her, and a sensation of buoyancy. She lifted up, into the air. The chanting of multiple voices was heard as she rose several feet. Below her, she heard a scraping sound, then a wash of heat against her back. The chanting grew louder, faster.

A silvery light was coming from something. Her skin? She couldn't be sure. But suddenly, her view rolled, and she saw below her, a long rectangular recess, just tall and wide enough to fit her. But inside she saw a glowing orange-white substance that bubbled. Lava? Liquid metal?

The chanting rose to a crescendo. A last voice cried out something. She scarcely had time to realize what was happening, before she dropped like a stone, right into a searing pain and darkness like she had never experienced, felt it envelop her world. She was immersed in that molten substance!

Valerie jolted upright, gasping and clutching at her chest. The unfamiliar dimness of the barracks, the smells and sounds of others nearby, confused her briefly until she remembered. The Monstrous Brotherhood. She felt in her muscles that burning ache again, signifying a fresh growth spurt.

"Crazy dreams." she muttered with annoyance. There were no glass windows in here, but wooden louvers that could be raised were spaced around. She saw one cracked, and in the gloom a faint line of light. Getting to her feet, she yawned and stretched, feeling quite calm and rested, alert and ready.

Despite having grown larger, she still felt quite light on her feet, but as she twisted to one side, a strange tension in her gut caught her attention. She moved her hand there to brush at it, felt a slight rounding that resisted her pushing against it. "The Hell?" she said quietly to herself.

She bent forward, and felt it there still. A hardened knot in her lower stomach. As she pondered what it could be, the door to the barracks opened suddenly and a series of loud bangs echoed. "ON YOUR FEET, SOLDIERS!" yelled the muscled form of Sergeant Feder, the Bugbear Master of the Company Hall here.

Many groans and what she could only imagine were unpleasant grumblings in their native tongues arose in reply. "Aye, I love you ugly bastards just the same. But that don't mean breakfast in bed! Hop to, hop to, hop to!" he chanted. The various members of the Brotherhood roused from their bunks, set about morning rituals.

To Valerie he said, "C'mon, get some chow. Long day ahead." and was gone. She grabbed her things and ducked out, following behind into the yard. The sun was peeking over the horizon, where she could see past the city's lines. She looked around, tried to remember where the mess hall was. Then just lifted her nose to sniff.

The faint odor of cooked meat led her to the right building, where she was given a bowl of what looked like porridge and a cooked link of some kind of sausage, laid atop it. She fished it out, bit in. Greasy and overcooked, to her mind, but edible. The porridge was nothing to praise, but it was filling, at least.

The thought of ale for breakfast didn't sit well with her, so she had water instead. Others were filing in to fill their own bellies, the sergeant among them. She cleaned up her mess and approached him. "Sergeant?" The Bugbear looked at her with a querulous grunt. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked.

The sergeant grinned, "Hear that, lads? We got a volunteer!" he called to the others. Many disparaging remarks were made, but none seemed filled with any distaste towards her specifically. "I can tell you never been military." commented Feder. Valerie looked at the floor, feeling embarrassed.

A slap from the sergeant on her forearm and he said, "We got this handled. If I need ya, I'll find ya." Valerie nodded, and left the hall for the yard. Looking around, she saw the warehouse and stables were open, with company members tending to the animals, among them Yena. The Gnoll gave her a friendly wave on her way to breakfast.

Others left as well, having tended the morning chore and now seeing to themselves. Still others filed out and set about getting the large draft horses brought to the wagons and hitched up. As the meal wound down, the rest were coming out and gathering arms, getting armored. Shields, spears, swords, bows or crossbows, chain mail and leather.

Around that time a voice called from without, "Open the gate!" It had a certain musical elegance to it she hadn't expected to hear, though it still had a masculine depth to it. Curious to see who this was, she approached as the doors opened and in rode...a black Elf.

Not the human shades-of-brown black. His skin was the color of obsidian, his hair a snowy white, eyes...red? She could swear they were! She thought then of Splish, telling her about black-skinned elves that worshipped spiders. She stared as he entered upon a snow-colored horse, dressed in some sort of plate mail with a red tabard over it.

Upon it she saw a shield emblem with what looked like a sword wreathed in flames overlaying it. He looked at her with mild surprise, but raised a hand in greeting before approaching the gathering soldiers. Several greetings were sent his way as he dismounted, the look of them seeming glad for his presence.

The sergeant rode up then from the stable, on his own horse. "Just in time. Was afraid we'd have to send someone around for ye." The elf laughed, "Now have you ever known me to be late to my holy duties?" Feder smirked, "No, and I hope I never will, for it'd mean ye'd died."

The Elf looked around at Valerie then, sent a quirked eyebrow to the sergeant. Feder called, "Ho, Valerie!" She approached, and Feder said "Meet War-Brother Onyx, Priest of Tempus and sworn brethren." To Onyx he said, "This here's Valerie...Bridgewater?" he looked at her, and she nodded. "New associate."

The Elf looked her over, "I heard something about a troll in town. The same one who defeated the Sheriff?" Valerie nodded, "That's me. Nice to meet you." Onyx looked at her with surprise, "Likewise." Feder looked more closely at Valerie and said, "Are my eyes working right? Did you get bigger since last night?"

Valerie nodded, "I did. I've been growing for months now." Feder considered that, then shrugged. "More troll can't hurt, I reckon." By now, there were three wagons assembled, each with two horses. One driver and one guard were seated on the buckboards. Besides Feder, Onyx and Yena, three others were mounted.

Two were on horses, but one was a Goblin, riding...a wolf? It seemed awfully big for a wolf, though nowhere near as large as Nightfang. Still, it made a good-sized mount for the Goblin. As she looked at it, it looked back with a level of awareness she didn't expect coming from an animal.

Eleven more stood around with weapons and armor, orcs and hobgoblins, from what she could tell. A twelfth, the kobold she'd seen the night before cleaning their gear, was seated up in the back of one of the wagons and its supplies. "Awright, listen up!" called Feder.

He rode past, looking over the assembled force. As he went past the soldiers on foot, he started to point, "Ride, walk, ride, walk..." going down the line. He mixed it up, but it resulted in six being told to walk and five told to ride. "Form ranks!" The wagon-drivers pulled around into a line, with two soldiers stepping in behind each wagon.

The ones told to ride climbed in the backs, some smiling and making teasing comments to their fellows. Feder rode around to the others on their mounts as Onyx climbed back on his. She heard him telling them where to ride. "Yena, front-left, Gnarsht, mid-left, Rukh, rear-left. Onyx, mid-right, Burgek, rear-right."

The Goblin, Rukh, took up position at the back wagon, along with the others. Feder approached Valerie and said, "You bring up the rear." As he took his own position at front-right of the wagons, he called "Eyes and ears open! Any place we don't control is enemy territory. See something strange, you shout. Hear the rider's horn, you get ready to fight."

He looked up to the guard watching their gate, "Open the gate!" Once it was done, he called "Company...for-WARD!" Taking up the horn hanging on his saddle, he gave a pair of loud blasts from it, as the horses were urged into action, with much rattling from the wheels and beds out onto the cobbled street.

Valerie started following behind, the pace slow and deliberate, a very easy walk for her. The feeling of tension was still there in her middle, though, and she kept reaching to rub at it as they made their way through the streets of the city. People stopped to watch their procession, the company banner flying on the tips of lances three riders held.

Out the north gate they rode, and once the train was fully clear of the walls, the riders started to spread out away from the road, looking around. The foot soldiers ambled along behind the wagons, while those riding glanced around at the countryside, same with the guards seated up front.

Valerie glanced around too, but saw little other than farmland and the people working it, animals kept on it. They continued on for a time, their progress slow but steady. The ones riding in the wagons turned to some distraction, playing with daggers, whittling bits of wood. The kobold, she saw, relaxed atop a sack with a book in his little clawed hands.

As morning turned to midday, Feder called "Company...HALT!" The wagons came to a stop, and the soldiers disembarked, the ones riding moving to help the drivers tend to the animals, while those who'd been walking gathered provisions from their stores under Feder's watchful eye.

All save the kobold, who climbed down and went off to the side, where the provisions were being brought. He waved his hands in the air, said some incomprehensible words. Then as the soldiers not tending to the animals approached, he started digging out the dried jerky-like rations. "Salty or spicy?" he would ask.

It didn't seem to matter which choice they made, he handed it to them just the same. Valerie hung back and watched as everyone else made their picks. A few said "Neither." or "Both." instead, and when Valerie approached and was asked, she said "What do you mean?"

The kobold looked at her like she was feebleminded. "Do you want me to make yours salty flavored, or spicy flavored, or both, or neither one?" he said slowly. Valerie frowned, "I'm ignorant, not stupid. Don't talk to me like I'm mentally handicapped." That made the kobold's scaly, faintly horned brows raise. "Fair enough." he replied mildly.

A few of the soldiers chuckled, and one said "Can't talk down to that one, Paevo!" Another cracked, "But he can talk down to you, by the gods!" The kobold looked over and said sharply, "I'm sorry, did you just say 'manure flavored'?" to the would-be wit. The lack of reply made him look back to Valerie. "Now, as I was saying..."

Valerie smiled at the little kobold, "Spicy, please." The kobold handed it to her, "Please, even. Something you thick-witted louts never say anymore!" he called, but he didn't seem serious about his dig. He took his own portion and joined the rest in sitting there, gnawing at the rations and sharing a water skin like the one Yena'd had before.

The horses milled about, grazing on some of the plants nearby, while Yena and Rukh relaxed there beside their own mounts, who were gnawing at rations themselves. The peppery flavor that the kobold had somehow given the dried meat made it more enjoyable for her.

When the Elf, Onyx, finished, she saw him rise and walk a short distance away from everyone else. He knelt down, bowed his head, and began muttering something she didn't understand. She reached out to get Yena's attention, and asked quietly, "What's he doing?"

"Praying to Tempus for his magic. His faith does it at midday." Valerie looked at him intently. She saw nothing magical about what he was doing, but that didn't mean it wasn't real. She knew gods were real. Like Vaprak. She suppressed a shiver to think of the vile troll god again.

Thankfully his dream-messages had stopped once what she guessed had been the goddess Ehlonna appeared to threaten him. Yena's hand touched her, snapped her out of her reverie. "Something wrong?" Valerie looked at her, saw concern in the gnoll's features. She smiled, "I'm fine. Just...old memories."

Yena nodded and let her be, rising to get ready to move again. Others were doing likewise, but a few stretched it out as long as they could until Feder said, "Awright, on yer feet! We still got half a day's march to go! Switch up! Riders walk, walkers ride."

As per his word, those who'd walked that morning climbed into the wagons, and those who rode took up positions behind. All except Paevo. He stayed right there on the back of the wagon, now joined by two soldiers instead of one. As they got underway, Valerie's curiosity itched at her, until finally, sometime later, she asked "Why don't you have to walk?"

The kobold looked up from his book, "Hmm?" he asked, tilting his head. "I said, why don't you have to walk?" The kobold said, "Ah. Good question." He closed the book around a cloth mark and sat up. "For one, I'm short. For two, I don't like it. And for three, most importantly..."

He drew himself up with an air of importance and said, dramatically, "When things go sour and the enemy comes screaming at us over the horizon...I'm the one who makes their world blow up." Valerie raised her brows in a dubious fashion, and Paevo smiled. "Never seen magic on the battlefield?"

Valerie shook her head, and Paevo laid back, "Sooner or later you will. Just hope it's outgoing and not incoming." He returned to his book, and Valerie continued trudging along. Thankfully the earth wasn't terribly dry around here, so she avoided eating dust all day, though she did end up stepping in a few horse-droppings before it was done.

As the sun made its way down on the horizon, Feder called for a halt once more. Everyone set to work making camp and tending to the animals. Tents were raised, and Valerie set up her own, which had gotten a bit cramped, but still serviceable. Evening rations were served, and over them, the sergeant chose the night watch rotation.

He didn't include Valerie, so she asked if he wanted her to help. "There's plenty of us to look out." he assured her, and she laid down to rest once it got fully dark. Strange to look up and no longer see two moons in the sky, but that was how it worked here.

The next morning, she awoke to the sound of others rousing and stirring around, crawled out and stretched. That odd tightness was still there in her midsection, and she rubbed at it with a frown. The priest saw her doing it and approached, "All well?" he asked. Valerie said, "Hey. I guess? There's a tightness in my stomach."

The Elf looked at her, "May I?" he asked, reaching his hand up. With her permission, he brushed over the area with his slim dark fingers. Next to her he seemed so small, just barely five feet in height. "The area's firm. You don't feel ill? Any aches or pains? Tenderness?" he probed it gently.

Valerie shook her head, "No, just that firmness." He nodded thoughtfully, "When I pray to Tempus today, I'll ask for what we call Healer's Vision. It'll allow me to look within you and see if I can spy anything amiss." Valerie nodded, "Thank you. And thank Tempus, too."

The elf smiled, "Of course." Valerie said, "You're a Drow, right?" He gave nod, "Yes. The first you've met?" At Valerie's confirmation he added, "Don't expect most to be like me." Valerie said, "I heard Drow were wicked, cruel and worshipped a spider god."

"You heard right, most of us do. She was our maker, and when she fell to darkness so did our kind." Onyx then said, "Excuse me, duties call." Valerie nodded, considering that. A whole race of people turned to evil because of their deity. She'd have to ask more about that later.

She broke camp with the rest, along with her fast. Once it was all packed up, they assembled and the wagon train resumed. From what she recalled, they'd only come about as far yesterday as she and Yena had in a half day's time on their own. Paevo the kobold was in the back wagon again, so she asked him, "How long does this trip take?"

He looked up, "Oh, about two weeks, assuming nothing goes wrong." She looked around, the farmland slowly starting to thin out as they progressed that day. At midday, she looked after the Drow when he went to conduct his prayers, but he didn't approach her after, so she let him be.

Getting underway again, she looked at Paevo, nose still in a book. "Hey, I was wondering...would you show me how to read and write?" The kobold looked at her curiously, and she said "I know how to do it in my native tongue, but not this one or the others I know." That seemed to pique his interest even more.

"What language is that?" She spoke in it, "The English language." He tilted his head, "That's a new one to me. Where did you say you were from?"

"A world called Earth. I have no idea where it's at."

Paevo scratched under his jaw thoughtfully, "No, doesn't sound familiar. Perhaps the Planar Cartographic Society might know of it."

"Where can I find them?"

"The nearest office I know of is in Sigil, the City of Doors. The Brotherhood's main company hall is located there. You can reach it from Clawhold, if you get permission to travel."

"How do I do that?"

"Once you're formally recognized as an associate, you can get a travel pass. We don't let associates run back and forth at will through our portals, so if you use one you'll have to remain there for at least a week, barring a brethren vouching for your travels."

"Are they hostile towards trolls in this Sigil place?"

Paevo chuckled, "No more hostile than to any other intelligent being. It's...unique."

Valerie shrugged, "Shouldn't be a problem."

Paevo laid back and sighed, "Ah, if I had a gold for everyone who said that about Sigil, my hoard would rival Tiamat's."

"So, can you teach me to read?"

"Oh, certainly. What other languages do you speak?"

"The Giant and Celestial languages."

Paevo looked at her with a curious expression again, "Celestial?" At her nod he said, "Well, I don't speak either of those. But I can teach you the Common script, at least."

"Thanks. What do I owe you?"

"Maybe a tale or two of this 'Earth' place." he looked at her and mused, "You are a most singular troll."

Valerie grinned, "Yeah, I'm starting to see that."

The journey continued on until late afternoon, when they stopped to make camp. Once he'd tended to his horse, Onyx approached Valerie. "Still feeling the same?" She stood up from where she'd finished fixing her tent. "Yeah. You have the Vision thing you asked for?"

"I do. Would you rather lay down while I look?"

Valerie considered it, "Yeah, okay." She opened her tent, "C'mon in." Once the Drow had entered, she sat and lay down, feet sticking out the front. He knelt by her side, reached to his neck to finger a small pendant, bearing the same design as that on his tabard.

Then waved his hand in the air, muttering some words, before he began looking at her with a close eye. Several moments passed as he looked over her abdomen, then his eyes widened in surprise. Valerie asked, "What is it? A tumor or something?"

He shook his head, "No, nothing like that. You...are with child." He gave her a hopeful smile, "Congratulations?"

Valerie's jaw dropped open to its rather disturbing full extension. "No fucking way."

Onyx shook his head, "My vision doesn't lie. I see the child inside your womb. It looks...healthy? I have no--"

His words were cut off as Valerie sat up and grabbed him suddenly, "You're lying! You're fucking lying!" she shook him, anger flooding her, alongside a current of fear. The Drow's eyes widened as he was tossed in her grip, and he tried to wrest himself free, to no avail. She was just too strong.

Outside the tent, others were starting to gather at hearing her yelling. She gave him a violent shove, screamed "OUT! GET OUT!" He quickly did as she said. She was dimly aware of him talking with others outside, but all she could hear was his proclamation, again and again. Her hands, shaking, went to her stomach. It couldn't be. It couldn't!

Horrible as they were, those were just dreams! Real as they seemed, she wasn't actually...raped? She wanted to deny it, to believe the Drow was being wicked and cruel after all, like Splish had warned her. But she knew that made no sense. Could Vaprak have done it? Or made it so that vile servant of his could while she was unconscious?

In the face of all the other horrors she'd suffered, would she have really known that had happened? She remembered him tearing out her womb, showing it to her. But that had been fairly early on. She hung there for weeks. Endured those nightmares for weeks. There had been plenty of time...

A wordless scream tore from her throat, and she lashed out in a rage, slashing her tent, the fabric toppling onto her. More cries followed suit as she vented her emotions, all the pain and suffering of her torment returning as an old wound ripped open inside her.

She fell to her side, sobbing. He'd done it. That vile fucking god had done it. He'd gotten to her in a way she never expected, and now she was doomed to bring another...troll into the world. The idea of having kids had never been an urgent one for her.

Sure, someday, she'd told herself. Once she'd gone pro and had a good run, built up a nice fortune for herself, she and her husband would get pregnant and have some kids. A son and a daughter both, she'd thought. That'd be just right. They could grow up to be sports heroes like her, or whatever else they wanted.

But not now. Now she was going to bear the spawn of one of these hideous monsters, put inside her in the most violent and humiliating way she could imagine. She twisted around upon herself in misery, drawing the remains of the tent around her. She wanted this to be over, she wanted to just wake up back at home, have it all be a dream.

A dark thought came to her then. She didn't have to bear some troll freak. She could end it, right now. That horrible servant had torn out her womb. Why couldn't she? Or just a few good thrusts. Sure, it'd hurt. But then it'd be over. No troll rape-child. No vindication for Vaprak. Just a couple good thrusts of her claws. That's all...

"Valerie?" A soft, faintly growing voice spoke. Yena. "Are you alright?" gentle concern filled her tone.

Valerie drew a deep, shuddery breath. "No. Go away." she said in a choked, gruff fashion.

"If you want. But can I bring you some food? Water?"

Valerie lay there, unresponsive for a minute before saying, "Okay."

Yena got up and left, returned. "Here you are."

Valerie sat up, tossed off the ruins of her tent. She looked at the gnoll there, took the rations and cup. "Thanks." Mechanically she devoured them.

As she did, Yena said "I heard why you're upset."

Valerie paused, looked up at Yena with annoyance, pain and shame in her eyes.

Yena crouched down, looked off into the distance where the last rays of the sun were vanishing. "I didn't tell you how I joined the Brotherhood." she said calmly. "My tribe was like most gnolls. We hunted, raided, took slaves, made some sacrifices, others food. Females were expected to tend the hearth and raise pups."

"When I was little, I tried to learn to use weapons too, like the males. When my parents found out, I was whipped half to death and told to remember my place. I grew up, came of age. The chieftain matched me to a young male, a strong hunter who had ambitions of ruling one day."

"It wasn't long, I was carrying my first litter. I was excited, I wanted to bear strong sons for the good of the tribe. But...that wasn't to be." She paused, poked at the ground before her. "My first pup was born deformed. His leg was twisted. There was no way he'd ever walk, ever hunt. I knew what they'd do. But it still broke my heart when they killed him."

"That wasn't all, though. My mate, shamed to have me bear 'inferior' pups, took the other two I bore, both healthy. He went to the shaman, offered them as sacrifices to Yeenoghu, to 'cleanse my sin'. They made me watch as they were killed, even as I screamed for them to be spared. My mate beat me, told me I was weak. It was my fault."

"That's when I decided to kill him." She narrowed her gaze, as she continued. "I pretended to be meek and obedient, pleaded for his forgiveness. Meanwhile I gathered weapons and supplies in secret, and when I had enough, I slit him open from groin to neck and fled."

"They hunted me, but I managed to escape. I survived on my own, barely. It was hard at first, I had to learn a lot. But I got better. Eventually, I found Nightfang, lost and alone. I took him in, a substitute for my own dead pups. Together we were stronger than either of us could be alone."

"With his help, I tracked and killed the shaman who murdered my pups. In doing so, though, I provoked the whole tribe into coming after me. They had to kill me, you see, otherwise they might have other females do what I had done. We fled as hard as we could. They nearly caught us."

"That's when we ran into a Brotherhood camp. When they saw me being pursued by gnolls, they quickly figured out what was going on. They helped me fight them off. And I immediately joined up." She paused again, then looked up and smiled as Nightfang came over. She rubbed his ears tenderly, making the large wolf whine happily.

"I'm happy with Nightfang, and the others in the Brotherhood. But I wonder often what could have happened, if I'd been able to save my pups. Could I have raised them to be different, like I'm different now? What would have become of them?" She gave a sigh, and stood again.

"I know you're sad, and I guess it's because this isn't what you wanted at all. But you're who chooses how it ends up. Your child doesn't have to be like other trolls anymore than you do." She stood there for several moments, then patted Nightfang's side, "C'mon, boy." she started walking off, and said "Good night, Valerie."

Valerie just nodded absently, still digesting Yena's story. She couldn't imagine how painful that had to be, to have children only to see them murdered, then be told it was your fault. It gave her a fresh perspective on her own situation. What Yena said was true. She didn't have to be like other trolls. Neither did her...child.

That was a hard thought to accept. But it was what it was. And if she did have it, it would be hers. Not Vaprak's, or anyone else's. Plus, she supposed, that didn't mean it had to be a troll. If magic could change her back to human, why not her child? If she could find a way home, return to human form, she could...take her baby with her?

She drew a deep breath, let it out slowly. It wasn't her fault she was pregnant. But if she did end it, that would be her hand. That dark voice reminded her, it wasn't too late. She could still do away with the unwanted spawn inside her. At last, she came to a decision. She'd keep it for now.

If she could find a way home before time to give birth, so much the better. "Wouldn't that be a Hell of a return?" she muttered, and chuckled as she rubbed at the hard lump there. Looking around, she gave a sigh. "Shit. Now I need a new tent." She collected the torn bits together, piled them up.

She looked around at the others in camp, and while she saw a few furtive eyes her way, most seemed to be deliberately ignoring her. She guessed she couldn't blame them, if she saw a big green thing like her flip out and scream, she'd wanna keep away from it too.

One did have the courage to look her way, though. The sergeant rose, approached. "Evenin'." he said conversationally. When she made no reply he said, "We got an extra tent on the wagon, if you need it. Not too big, but if it comes a rain, some shelter's better'n none."

Valerie nodded, "Thanks, sergeant. Tell Onyx I'm sorry I tossed him around?" The sergeant waved a hand, "Ah, he's fine. Said he was more impressed than scared." Valerie couldn't help but smile at that, and the sergeant continued. "So, Yena says you know how to hunt."

"Yeah, I'm pretty decent, I guess." Feder then replied, "We're gettin' on past the farmland now. Generally, we start rangin' farther from the wagons, and us who can hunt try and bring in some game, help keep meals from gettin' too damned boring. You mind helping out?"

"Just work your way along, to the left or right, whatever you like. Keep the wagons in sight, but if you spy something big, don't hesitate to go after it. Gods know we all get tired of rations, no matter how many ways that kobold spices 'em up." Valerie nodded, "Sure, sergeant. Happy to help."

The bugbear smiled, "Good to know." He looked around, and then made a show of stretching and yawning. "Well, better get to my kip. See ya in the mornin'." Valerie gave him a wave as the sergeant left, and made herself comfortable there on her sleeping fur, gazing up at the moon and stars.

The thought of having a baby was still a very shocking thing, but she supposed she would adapt. She'd survive. She'd come too far to just give up now, after all. She'd endured more horrible things than this, right? At least, she hoped she had. Eventually, she grew tired enough to fall asleep.

She awoke to murmuring around her. A voice said, "Gimme your spear." Then she heard someone call, "I said...WAKE UP!" and she felt a sharp poke in her side, pushing. The sound of grunting, straining, and a few chuckles. She sat up suddenly, twisting away from the pressure, to find Paevo squawking and tumbling over nearby.

"The Hell??" she asked, looking at the soldiers around. Then she saw the sun was fully up, the wagons were hitched, everything was packed. Except her. Paevo picked himself up off the ground, saying fussily, "I know you're in a family way, Valerie, but really...do you expect us to wait around all day for you to rest?"

She got to her feet, "Sorry, I didn't get to sleep until late." Paevo grumbled, picking up the spear he'd been poking her with and tossing it to a soldier. "Oh yes, very funny, ha-ha, make the little kobold poke the troll with the spear." he griped to the others. "I'll remember this the next time we're about to be overrun by enemy forces!"

One of the soldiers looked at Valerie and said, "Yer know, dere's a word inna Giant tongue fer Kobolds like 'im." Valerie looked at him curiously, "What?" Paevo glared at the soldier, "Don't you say it, don't you dare say--"

"Talarmat."

The word sparked in her mind, and she frowned. "Talking snack?"

If Paevo's look could have killed, the soldier would be a smoking crater in the ground. "She didn't know. She didn't know, but ohhh no, you just HAD to tell her!" He pointed a finger at the soldier, spat a string of what she guessed were curses in some other language and stomped off.

Even though she didn't want to hurt his feelings, Valerie had to laugh a little. She gathered her things as the sergeant said, "Well, if you mummery lot're done with today's show, maybe we can finally get underway?" Everyone moved to their positions, and Valerie got in behind, following as the wagons started to roll.

True to what the sergeant said, the riders started going out further from the wagons. They kept in eyesight, but she saw Yena with her bow, Rukh with his lance, even Feder with a crossbow all taking time to kill small game and bring it back to the wagons. The soldiers riding along took the kills, laid them up for later.

Valerie ranged out away too, glad for the distraction from the continual plodding behind the wagon, looking at Paevo's sour expression as he rode along. She killed a few small animals herself, brought them back. When they stopped at midday, she approached Paevo. "Hey. Sorry about earlier. I didn't know you found that offensive."

The kobold sighed, "It's...more just a tired old joke. Kind of a company tradition, they tend to call small folk - but especially kobolds - that."

"Why?"

"Because two of the founders were giants, an ogre and a troll, and another was a kobold. And they used to call him that as a joke. So it stuck. Some of us don't mind it so much, but I've gotten sick of it."

"I see. I guess maybe it's different between friends."

Paevo grunted. "Maybe. At least you're thoughtful enough to apologize."

Valerie nodded, "So, maybe this evening we can work on my reading?"

Paevo gave her a sly smile, "Ahhh, I see your little ruse! Play upon my gratuitous nature to get what you want!" he shook an accusing finger at her, but there was a twinkle of mirth in his eyes.

Valerie made a mock-show of awe and contriteness, "You've seen right through me, oh wise and mighty Paevo. I am truly no match for you!"

Paevo gave a snort, "Don't lay it on so thick, I might suffocate. Then who'd teach you to read?"

"Oh, I guess any of these guys could probably do it, but since you're hand-sized, it's a lot easier for me to keep you under control. In fact, you can double as a pen for me. Just jab that snout of yours in the dirt..."

Paevo gave a loud bark of laughter, "Oh, just try it! I'll turn you into a toad before you can draw your first character!"

Valerie looked at him and said, "You can't really do that, can you?"

Paevo looked around, "...no, not really, but I've seen it done. Maybe one day, though. So be warned!"

Valerie raised her hands, "Okay, I surrender."

Paevo drew himself up with an important air, "See? I knew you were smart."

Valerie just shook her head and laughed, letting it go at that. They got underway again, stopping that afternoon. By the time they had, several of the animals had been skinned in preparation. As soon as the camp was up, they set to roasting them over the fire, sharing portions around. Paevo seasoned anyone's who asked.

Bits of several different animals made up her meal. While she usually preferred larger portions, it did make for a nice treat. Others were tossed into a pot to cook into a stew for the morning. Valerie took up the sergeant's offer to use a spare tent. While it wasn't nearly big enough, it did the job to cover half of her.

Once they'd all eaten, she spent some time listening to Paevo as he demonstrated the characters of the alphabet and how to draw them. She started practicing, understanding the concepts underlying it all, just needing to memorize them and how they formed grammar and syntax.

Three more days passed as they traveled further north, starting to turn more to the east. The countryside rolled by gently, plains and scrub forest, along the faint trail that made for a road in these parts. The weather remained warm, even hot and sticky some days, but generally mild at night. A few showers passed, but that was all.

By this time, the landscape was rising up before them. "Heading into the Bluff Hills now. Soon be on up to the foot of the Griff Mountains." explained Sergeant Feder on the seventh day of their travels. True to his word, the countryside started getting harder to travel. Some hills they could climb.

Others they had to meander around on low slopes or through valleys. Hunting continued to be decent, with the occasional kill of a large game animal bringing more stable feed. They had provisions still, but they wanted to keep a good mix. So far there'd been no trouble, but you never knew.

While the only book Paevo had was in Draconic, a language he claimed was the universal tongue of scholars across the planes, she was learning to read and write pretty quickly. Her pace was still slow, and sometimes her grammar wasn't very good, but she recognized a lot of common words at least.

One evening early in the second week, Onyx came around. "I asked for Healer's Vision again today. Do you want me to look in on your child?" Valerie nodded, "Oh, sure." She had gotten a little more used to the idea this lump in her gut was a new life growing, but it still just seemed unreal to her. "I wish I could see."

Onyx worked his spell, and after several moments said, "I'm not a midwife, but the child seems whole and is moving around." Valerie said, "Really? I haven't felt anything." He smiled, "If trolls are anything like other races, it won't be much longer before you do. I don't know how long troll pregnancies last, but I'm sure someone will."

Valerie nodded, "Maybe in Sigil? I was told it was a city I could visit to maybe find out more about getting back home." Onyx said, "Likely so. If not there, someone there should be able to point the way. Sigil is the hub of the Great Wheel of the planes. Everywhere touches it, so they say."

Valerie smiled, "Thanks." Then she said, "I've been wondering. Why are you called Onyx?"

"Oh, Onyx is a type of stone that's about the same color as my skin."

"I know that. But why? Don't you have a real name?"

"Not anymore. It was taken from me years ago. I was once in the Nameless Legion, you see."

"Oh. Who are they?"

"A mercenary company, similar to the Brotherhood. They recruit beings from all across the planes. If you wish to escape some sort of terrible fate, you can always join the Nameless Legion. But if you do, you give up who you are. It's the only way to make sure you can't be found."

"How is that possible?"

"It's a ritual performed by the heads of the Legion, in sacrifice to an ancient power only called the Nameless One. Why it takes names, what it gains from it, none really know. But in my past, that's what happened. Though I doubt it was by my own choice."

Onyx further explained, "You see, some time ago, the Paymasters - those who run the Legion - grew corrupt. Instead of just taking volunteers, they started to capture and enslave beings, force them to forget, serve the Legion whether they wanted to or not. I was probably one of them."

"You don't know? Because they took it away from you?"

"Not quite. You see, the founders of the Brotherhood had been captives of the Legion, originally. But they escaped, forged their own path, and eventually came back to take revenge for what had happened. They fought a war with the assistance of one Paymaster who wanted to return the Legion to the way it used to be."

"Together they ended the tyranny of the Legion, won their freedom and that of all the Legionnaires. Afterward, many of them chose to continue living their mercenary life, and that's how the Brotherhood went from the original five to the company it is today. Some of them, especially civilized races, chose to stay with the new Legion instead."

"But when I was presented with the choice to remember who I used to be, I chose not to. I knew what the Drow were like. And I decided I was probably better off not remembering a lifetime of...that. I converted from faith in service to the Nameless One to that of Tempus. And I have been War-Brother Onyx ever since."

Valerie nodded. To choose not to remember who you were wasn't something she could do, she thought. But if you were faced with the possibility, even the likelihood of it being awful to know? She could understand that choice. "So Tempus is a war god, right?"

"Yes, Tempus is the Lord of Battles. He teaches war is a force of nature. It's as inevitable as the change of seasons, or the weather of skies and seas. It's the storm brought about by thinking beings, where they gather and live. You can either prepare for its coming, or suffer helplessly when it arrives."

"As such, war should be conducted in an upfront, honorable manner. Fight your enemy, but respect them, for they have courage, honor and duty just as you do. Only cowards strike at the innocent, seek to win by subversive ways. Dragging on war longer than it must be is also wrong."

That concept seemed very strange to Valerie. But the idea of having war by rules, she could sympathize with. "It sounds very odd to me. But where I come from, there are no gods. At least, none who make themselves known like yours do." She added, "Thanks for looking in on me...us, really." It felt strange to say that, true as it might be.

Onyx gave her a smile, white teeth peeking past his dark lips like a crescent moon in the night sky. "Any time. Rest well." Valerie lay back, idly rubbing at her stomach with her hand. "We're fine." she said softly to herself. Her feelings were still very mixed on the subject. But it didn't change what lay ahead.

She wasn't sure about continuing to put herself in danger, knowing she had a baby inside her. But by the same token, she'd - they'd - endured the battering the orcs dealt out and come through just fine. So maybe it was different for a troll like her. Hopefully someone would have better answers for her at Clawhold, or somewhere beyond.

Speaking of beyond, she caught her first sight of the distant Griff Mountains the next morning as they crested a hill. Faint on the horizon, but Paevo smiled, "We'll be at Clawhold before you know it." Valerie asked, "Why is it so important?" Paevo said, "Because of the portal there. Through it we can move all manner of forces and supplies."

"And it was also the home base of an adventuring group called The Claw. They were early foes, then allies of the Brotherhood's founders, now Brotherhood themselves. Like the Brotherhood, The Claw's made up of so-called monstrous beings. You'll meet them when we arrive, they have command there. Their leader's a Troll."

That caught Valerie's interest, "What's she like?"

"He. Comar's a pretty solid, simple sort. Likes to fight, to eat, the adventurous lifestyle."

A male troll. That made Valerie a little apprehensive, but still...meeting one who wouldn't be hostile towards her... "I look forward to it."

As the days passed, the mountains grew in size before them. Great, forbidding peaks, which she learned were named for the large number of both Griffons and Hippogriffs that lived there among them. The difference between the two had to be explained. "Griffons are lion-like and intelligent, though they don't speak. Hippogriffs are horse-like and simple beasts."

Valerie brightened to hear of the Hippogriffs. "So that's what those flying horse-birds were!" She related her tale of fighting the creatures during her time in the Beastlands. "I hated to kill them, they were beautiful in a strange way." Paevo shrugged, "They're very territorial. Not much you could've done, except maybe flee to shelter."

Paevo further told her, "There's money to be made collecting their eggs or newly hatched chicks. Some raise them to be mounts. Of course, it's also a good way for the foolish and unwary to end up dead, but that's true of most places away from civilization."

Several days passed as the mountains loomed more and more above. On the fifth day of their second week, they had a shock when ahead, one of their riders blew a horn. However, seconds later, another horn answered it. And then they came into view. Another group, all on horseback.

She quickly saw they weren't all orcs and goblinkin, either. One reminded her of a giant praying mantis, a golden brown in color, with four arms on its upper body, perched on two legs. It had no extended abdomen, but otherwise was insectile in appearance.

Another was a tall, gaunt, yellow-skinned elf-like being with ornate armor and weapons. Its hair was done up in a complicated series of braids, decorated with gems and jewelry. She couldn't tell if it was male or female. They waved in greeting, and spoke briefly with Feder.

The train halted for just a minute, and Valerie nodded to the two unknown beings, "What are they?" she asked Paevo. He looked, and said "Ah. The giant bug is a Thri-Kreen, sometimes called mantisfolk. The skinny yellow one is a Githyanki. You can always tell them from their kin by their tendency to dress like that."

"If you see one without all those adornments, chances are it's a Githzerai. And the two peoples take it as a serious insult if you get them confused, even nowadays." Valerie nodded, "I'll keep that in mind." The riders were soon moving on their way, and the wagons started rolling again. "Must be a routine patrol." commented Paevo.

The next day, as they made their way through another gully area, a shadow suddenly passed over them. Looking up, Valerie saw a great winged beast soaring past, its hind legs tucked in raptor-fashion and a long tail with what she could swear looked like a barbed tip trailing. Its saurian head looked this way and that.

She reached for a spear, but saw the others looking to smile and wave. She saw that the beast was not alone, as it banked around, its pale white scales catching in the sunlight. A figure was riding on it in a high-backed saddle of some kind, wearing a dark hooded robe.

Paevo saw Valerie's look of puzzled concern, and said "That'll be Cedric and Ivy up there. He's what we call a Skymage. They're arcane spellcasters that create a magical bond between themselves and a flying creature of some kind. Very useful sorts to have around, especially if the enemy can take to the sky as well."

The kobold smiled, "Rather like those aerial slopes - no, planes, wasn't it? - you mentioned to me." Valerie nodded. She'd told him a little of Earth and how it used natural understanding, science, to do many things that magic did for them in this world. He grasped the concepts of the devices of man fairly well, if not exactly their workings.

Paevo had mentioned arcane magic before, what she understood to be the magic inherent to the world itself. As opposed to divine magic, the power of the gods. When she asked what sort of magic he did, he explained "I am a Sorceror. My magic is an inherent part of me, as opposed to a Wizard's, which is learned through years of study."

"What is that he's riding on? Some kind of dragon?"

"Yes, though they're not true dragons. It's a Wyvern. Rather stupid, violent creatures, but effective hunters. Their barbed tails contain a potent and lethal venom. They swoop down on their prey, snatch it up in their claws and sting it as they carry it off. Or else, fly by and poison it, then circle and harry until it's dead."

"Good thing it's on our side." opined Valerie. That evening, she practiced again with Paevo. Her reading and writing had continued to improve, and she now felt fairly confident in her ability to do so at a reasonable pace. Still, she hoped she'd have a chance to learn the script of the other languages she understood.

The next day dawned cloudy and cooler as they continued their trek. The mountains were close now, and Feder was urging everyone to hurry along. "I wanna be in Clawhold afore sunsebb." he kept chiding them. Still, he didn't push too hard, as he didn't want to harm the animals.

Sure enough, as the afternoon approached sunset, ahead at the foot of the mountain, they saw it. A great stone fort built right onto the face of it, strong high walls forming a slightly lopsided square to take advantage of the natural shape of the slopes rising above.

Horns were blown on approach, and the heavy metal grates of the portcullis began to rise. She saw too upon the towers what looked to her like giant crossbows mounted on stands. "What're those?" she asked Paevo.

"Ballista. They don't have the range or power of catapults, but you can use them far more effectively against moving targets, especially ones in the air. We've come under attack from fiends summoned by Iuz's forces before, and attacking on the wing is a popular strategy for them."

The train rolled into the courtyard, which was probably two-thirds of a football field in dimensions. All about she saw orcs and goblinkin moving around, with scatterings of gnolls and kobolds. Here and there other beings, including a grey-skinned dwarf with white hair.

But what truly grabbed her attention was the bear head. Set back into the side of the mountain at the rear of the fort was a cave mouth that looked to have been half-carved, half-found in the shape of a yawning bear's head. She could see light coming from within.

Paevo followed her gaze and smiled. "That was the original base there. Some bandit outpost The Claw took over years back and made their own. They've built up all sorts of things down there. You'd almost think kobolds had done it." he said the last with a superior air in his tone.

Eyes were wandering her way from all around, curiosity and suspicion mixed in roughly equal measure. Others approached to take mounts and guide the draft animals to the stables nearby once the wagons had been parked, though Yena and Rukh handled their own creatures.

From within the cave, a strange being in even stranger dress approached. The bright yellow robe and tall pointy wide-brimmed hat put Valerie in mind of a mustard-colored Gandalf, though this was no human wearing such clothes. Probably around six feet tall, it had a squat, rounded body, with skinny legs and arms ending in clawlike appendages.

Most striking, though, was its head. Two large black eyes stared out, surrounded by a forest of six smaller eyes, while its mouth was very much like the fangs of a spider. From what she could see, it had dark brown hair all over, and it moved with an odd sort of dancing gait.

"Ah, you made it!" the being called, its voice sounding like someone with a spit-filled dental retainer and a wheezing chest cold. "And with good time. Your journey was safe?"

Feder stepped up, "Aye, it was. Nothin' to fight but boredom."

The spider-thing bobbed its head, "Such times are welcome when pay's not on the table."

Feder grinned, "Got that right. Where's the lieutenant?"

"He'll be along shortly. Though speaking of trolls, I don't remember this one." A clawed hand waved in Valerie's direction.

"Ah, new associate. Valerie! C'mon over." Feder waved his arm, and she approached. "This here's Valerie Bridgewater."

The spider-thing reached up to doff its wizard-y hat, revealing more of its arachnid head to view. "Many greetings. I am Anrenay, priest of Fharlanghan, member of The Claw and Sergeant of the Monstrous Brotherhood. Welcome to Clawhold."

Valerie stared at the odd being, and said "Yeah, hi. Nice to meet you. Like he said, I'm Valerie."

Feder said, "Valerie here stood up to a whole Imperial company of orcs by her lonesome. Killed 'em, too."

Anrenay looked at her again, "Really now? I know from experience how indestructible trolls are, but that is no small feat."

A new voice, gravelly and rough like Valerie's own, called "What is?"

From within the cave, a new figure approached. This was most definitely a troll. Skin a similar green color to her own, with a lanky, hunched build, the elephantine shape to its nose, heavy clawed hands and feet, and rootlike tendrils of hair on its head.

Still, it seemed to be making more of an effort to stay upright, and was wearing actual clothes, a tunic and trousers of light brown color. When it saw Valerie, it stopped, and its nose drew deep on the air, the solid yellow eyes widening. A look of...fear? came upon its features.

"Huh. We got a new troll around." it said, in a slow, cautious voice. Its dour features twisted in what passed for a smile. "Welcome to Clawhold, miss...?"

Valerie watched the troll's odd behavior with puzzlement. It was taller than her, like the one she'd encountered before. By her best guess, nine feet as opposed to her eight-six. As she scented the air, a particular musk caught that assured her, somehow, this troll was male. "Valerie. Bridgewater."

The male troll nodded his head, "Right, right. Good ta meet you! I'm Comar. Uh, anyone mention me yet?"

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, you're in charge here?"

He nodded again, "Yep, yep. That's me!" He gave a somewhat nervous laugh.

Feder and Anrenay both were staring at what Valerie had to assume was atypical behavior for Comar.

"Yeah, she's a new associate, sir." informed Feder.

Comar's eyes widened, "Oh! Well, come in! Come in! Make yourself comfortable! You're prolly tired from the trip. Hungry too, eh?" he chuckled. "Uh, Sergeant! Send someone to the mess, get her some food. Sergeant! Er, other Sergeant! Go make sure we got a troll-sized bunk made for her."

Now Feder and Anrenay were staring at Comar like he'd grown a second head and a third arm out the top of it. But each said, "Yes, sir." and went about their assigned tasks. By that time, Yena, Paevo and the others were approaching and bearing witness to the strange drama playing itself out.

Yena seemed confused, whereas Paevo was starting to grin in crocodilian delight. Valerie, nonplussed, just watched Comar silently. An awkward pause, and the male troll clapped his clawed hands, "Lemme show ya in." He gestured invitingly, and led the way.

Inside the halls were lit with flickering blue flame torches. No smell of burning came from them, so Valerie guessed it was some kind of magic. "We don't get a lotta giants, but we got bunks just in case any turn up. I think tonight's roast boar. You like roast boar?"

Valerie couldn't help but smile at the fearful/helpful behavior being shown to her. It was flattering, in a weird sort of way. "That sounds good. We've just been eating whatever we could catch, along with the travel rations." Comar made a face, "Yeah, I get sick o' those pretty quick too."

A faint scrape from behind made Valerie look, and she gave a cry of alarm to spy a giant spider there, like the ones that had ambushed her in the forest a few weeks back. This one just regarded her with tilts of its head. Comar, however, saw it and yelled "DURLOB! NO!" waving his hands. In an instant, the spider vanished again.

Comar looked at Valerie with open fear and held up his hands apologetically, "Sorry, sorry, he's used ta doin' that when he wants. I'll make sure he don't bother you no more, I promise!' Valerie was too thrown off by the exaggerated appeasement of Comar to really think about the appearance and disappearance of the spider.

"Okay...uh, I don't know why you're acting like this, but it's starting to bother me." she said with slow deliberation. Comar nodded, "Alright, whatever you say. Just wanted to make sure you was comfortable, bein' the way you are, and all." His eyes flicked to her belly.

The light dawned for Valerie. "Look, I'm not gonna break cos I'm...pregnant." It was still hard to say that to someone, but she continued, "I was pregnant when I fought all those orcs and they tried to turn me into a giant green pincushion. Nothing bad happened then. I don't think anything bad'll happen walking around in here."

Comar muttered, "Oh, Tempus I hope not..." under his breath.

Even though she heard him fine, Valerie couldn't help but ask, "What was that?"

Comar's eyes flew wide again, "Nothing! Nothing! Uh, let's go see where they're at with that bunk!" he all but scuttled away from her.

Valerie shook her head and laughed softly, following along. Soon she came to a side-passage and door, where a barracks area was set up. Feder was there, and he smirked to see them show up. "Bunk's all ready, sir." he informed Comar, giving him a salute.

Comar returned it, "Good work, Sergeant. Now where's Anrenay?"

As if on cue, the spiderlike being arrived. "Here you are! I wasn't sure which bunk you meant. Cook wasn't happy with me jumping the line on the boar, but I told him it was your orders." Anrenay looked at Valerie, "I hope water is fine to drink?"

Valerie grinned, "It's fine, thank you." She took the platter with slices of roasted meat and a drizzle of gravy, picked one up with her claws and sampled it. "Mm. That's good." she nodded her approval.

Comar grinned himself, "Good! Good! Now I'm sure you want to rest, so let's all leave you be..." he sent meaningful looks at the other two.

They all left the room, closing the door. From without she heard Anrenay speak. "Comar, what in the Nine Hells has gotten into you?"

Comar replied, "Shh! Do you know what that is? Do you? That's not just a female troll! That's a PREGNANT female troll!"

Anrenay said, "Really? Well, I don't see why that matters..."

Their voices fading beyond recognition, Valerie could only come to the conclusion pregnant female trolls were usually something to fear. Ordinarily, she turned an unkind eye to such obsequious behavior from people. But, she had to admit, getting a private bunk and what amounted to room service had its charm...

While she dined, a knock sounded and a familiar snout poked into the door. "Your Majesty? Oh, your Majesty?" came Paevo's voice. The kobold entered, and immediately made a spectacle of bowing and scraping, "Oh, grand and wondrous Queen of Trolls, your humble servant is not worthy to be in your presence!"

Valerie quipped dryly, "Not without more dinner, you're not."

Paevo gave a series of hissing laughs, closing the door behind him. "I haven't the faintest notion why Comar is so scared of you, but that was the best comedy troupe I've seen in ages!"

Valerie shrugged, "I guess troll mothers-to-be are scary."

Paevo came up and climbed atop the bedside with some effort. "Never seen gravid kobolds act like that. Must be something you scaleless ones get up to."

"Sometimes pregnant humans can be emotional and unstable. But they're not nine feet tall and able to rip chunks out of the walls with their bare hands."

Paevo tossed his head to the side, "There is that." He sniffed at her plate, "That does smell good."

Valerie finished the last of it off, set it aside. "Yeah, it was good. I'm half-tempted to play grumpy houseguest just to get more treatment like this."

Paevo laughed again, "I'm sure he'll settle down once he gets to know you better."

"I hope so. Despite how I look, I'm just...a person, you know? Inside."

"I get your meaning. Most of us are. Anrenay's a good example there."

"Yeah, what is he, anyway? Or she?"

"He. His kind are called Ettercap. Intelligent spiderlike beings, though they usually have a fairly primitive lifestyle. Rather like most trolls."

"I see. And what's with that spider that appeared out of nowhere? Is that someone's pet?"

Paevo laughed again, "Oh no, that's Durlob. He's a very unique Phase Spider. One of The Claw, in fact. He's as intelligent as the rest of us, but he can't speak. From what I hear, he just started following Anrenay and Comar around one day, helping them out."

"So just pop in, bite someone and pop out? How do they know to do that, anyways?"

"It's inherent to their species. Phase Spiders slip between the Ethereal and Material Planes at will."

Valerie nodded. "Okay, that makes more sense." That was a term that had become much wider in definition these last few months. She thought of something a science teacher had told her years ago: _The universe operates on rules. Understand those rules and you can put it to work for you._

She rose to her feet, collecting her dishes. "Show me where to take these?" Paevo nodded and led her back out into the halls of the company's hold. It didn't take long before they arrived in the company mess. Looking at those on duty she asked, "Are these company members too?"

Paevo nodded, "Rawhides. They're unproven recruits, members-in-training. Everyone goes through a trial period before they can become a full brethren. Usually means you do all the dirty, unpleasant jobs the rest of us don't want to do. Others are just paid workers, some family members of brethren."

Valerie returned her dirty dishes, thanked them for the meal. "Should I talk to someone about finishing whatever I need to do to be an associate?"

Paevo said, "Oh, sure. But I'd leave that up to them. Take the chance to rest while you got it."

"Yeah. Thanks, Paevo." She looked around. "Show me back to the barracks?"

The kobold rolled his orange eyes, "What is it with you surface folk? Take away the sun and suddenly you're helpless as a blind wyrmling to find your way anywhere." he griped, but good-naturedly, while showing her back.

"What, just cos I didn't live in the ground my whole life?"

Paevo grunted, "Very punny."

Valerie had to stop and think about that for a moment, then she made a face too. "Ugh. Sorry, didn't mean it like that."

Once she'd returned, Valerie stopped to make a couple of scratches in the wall near the door so she could find it again. With a wave to the departing Paevo, she took up in her bunk again. Well, she'd made it here. Now to see if she could do like Yena said, trade all that stuff they'd stolen from the orcs for coin, then figure out her next move.

The wood-frame bed wasn't exactly a luxury featherbed, but it was built to her size and had more padding to it than she'd enjoyed since the pallets at the estate of the Guardinals. Thinking back, she should've guessed she was pregnant then, the way she'd felt tired and nauseous.

It also reminded her she wanted to get some new clothes, something sturdier, like what Yena wore. But she also wasn't sure how much bigger she'd get. And, she rubbed at her slightly pooched tummy, bigger. She lay there for a time, meditating on it all, before she finally rolled over and sought her rest.

She awoke with a start, looking around in the unfamiliar gloom. Away from moon and stars, the darkness was much deeper than she was accustomed to. Still, as they had in the depths of that cave where she found her first pieces of equipment, her eyes adjusted to show a black-and-white version of everything.

"Barracks. Right." she muttered to herself, and smiled to remember her treatment from the day before. It had been cute, but she was ready to get on to business now. Rousing, she reached for her things automatically, then stopped and left them there in the room.

She left to wander around, looking for the mess, quickly following behind a group of unarmed soldiers when she got turned around once more, finding it that way. Once she'd collected her portion of porridge, cheese and some sort of fried, salt-cured ham, she looked about for a familiar face. Spying Yena, she went over to greet her. "Hey."

The gnoll smiled and sipped from a cup of hot tea, "Ho, Valerie. Sit." she invited. Valerie did so, digging into her meal.

Yena said, "Paevo tells me you're getting royal treatment."

Valerie gave a grunt of laughter, "Something like that."

"See if it'll speed up accounting of our spoils from the company of orcs. I've plans for that money."

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, it's on my agenda for today. I've got plans, too." She then asked, "So what do you do here when you're not out...y'know...working?"

"Oh, eat, sleep, eat some more, sleep some more..." the gnoll said airily, as if discussing works of great import.

"No, really."

"But I do. Besides that, I'll get in some drill time with my weapons, check the job postings for anything new, visit the common room for drinks and stories, maybe a game or two. Trust me, when you've been in the field a while, eating and sleeping without fear of something trying to kill you is luxury enough."

Valerie nodded, and the gnoll rose. "I need to see to Nightfang, I'm sure he's ready to be let out."

Valerie said, "He doesn't stay by your side in here?"

Yena shook her head, "They don't like animals roaming around. They barely tolerate familiars. Anything bigger has to remain in the stables if it's unattended." She smiled, "He puts up with it, but he still wants to be with me."

Valerie smiled as well, at the strong bond between the gnoll and her wolf 'son'. "Give him a scratch for me."

Yena carried her plates off with a wave good-bye, and Valerie returned to her breakfast. By the time she was finishing, she caught a flash of yellow and saw the Ettercap, Anrenay, entering.

Bussing her own mess, she waited until he'd sat down before she approached. "Good morning."

Anrenay looked up to her, "Ah, good day! You've had a solid rest and feast?"

"I have, thanks. Listen, when can I speak to you or someone about doing what's needed to become an official associate?"

"As soon as I finish my meal. I doubt Comar's up to it yet."

Valerie nodded, smirking to hear mention of the distressed male troll. "I was not expecting that kind of treatment."

"Neither of us were. I knew from his tales female trolls were fearsome, but this is the first I heard of the terrors pregnant females become. Apparently one tore his privates off as a youth because of her mood."

Valerie winced in sympathy, "I know human females sometimes wish they could do that to the men when they're giving birth, but that's..." she shook her head, not having the words.

Anrenay nodded, "Human females such as you once were? Feder mentioned your circumstances to me."

"Yeah, though I wouldn't know anything firsthand about birth." She touched at her stomach, "My first child."

Anrenay declined comment to that, focusing on his meal. Valerie moved a short distance away and sat to wait until he was finished. That was a very strange thing still, and she had mixed feelings in abundance to consider this her initial pregnancy experience.

Once the Ettercap was done, Valerie rose to follow along when he beckoned to her, putting his large hat on. As he led the way through the halls, Valerie asked, "Is this how followers of your god usually dress?"

Anrenay gave a series of hissing, spit-gargling sounds she presumed were laughter, "Oh no, no. Most wear green or brown clothing. I wear these in memory of my mentor."

"Oh, is it how he dressed?"

"Not at all. You see, he and I met one day by accident. I was gathering some food in my webbing, when from out of the sky a misty form came drifting to the ground. Upon landing it turned into a human man. When he saw me, he gripped his walking stick securely, but greeted me all the same."

Anrenay continued, "It was the first time someone not of my kin had bothered to try and talk to me. I was curious, so I asked who he was and how he got here. He explained his name was Venn, and he was a priest of the travelling god, Fharlanghan. He'd performed a rite they call the Wind Walk."

"By calling upon their god, their bodies are turned to mist and taken onto the wind, to drift along as the air wills until some time later when they will drop down and return to the land to wander. He then invited me to travel with him. I accepted. We spent time wandering as he told me of his journeys and I of my life."

"When we at last came to civilization, he bade me stay on the outskirts while he went to obtain some concealing clothing, that I might walk among them and not be so noticed. When he returned, he was carrying what you see here. It was the only color the tailor had for these. In the end, I think I attracted more attention, not less."

Anrenay opened a door, escorting Valerie inside a cramped office with shelves of rolled documents and bound ledgers all about. "Eventually, when he had educated me in the faith, he left me to travel his own path and I mine." He took a seat at the desk there, "And so I always remember him with these. I've grown to like them, honestly."

Valerie nodded, "They're unique, that's for sure." Once he'd settled, she crouched down. "So what do I need to do?"

Anrenay said, "You can read and write?"

Valerie said, "I'm...pretty good, I think? I've just been learning the last couple weeks."

Anrenay produced a document, "See what you make of that."

Valerie looked it over. It wasn't quite as automatic as with English, but she could see if was a form of some kind. "Name, Race, Gender...this is paperwork for members?" She handed it back at Anrenay's prompt.

"Just so. Let me get this filled out...now, associates must pay a hundred gold pieces plus twenty-five more per month for membership benefits. That includes food and lodging at any company hall and company-sponsored employment opportunities, as well as our backing in times of crisis. Within reason."

Valerie nodded, "I don't have any money in actual coins yet, but I do have some loot to sell. Yena said we could get it appraised? She talked like it'd be pretty valuable, more than enough to pay the fees."

"Good, good. It's all on the wagons?" At Valerie's nod he said, "I'll have someone find Yena and we'll get on that shortly. When we know the value, we can discuss your ends."

Once he had the details down he said, "Now you understand the rules by which we handle our affairs? Company members do not make war with one another when a contract is in play, or knowingly perform a job that conflicts with company affairs."

"Any company member who attempts to steal from or otherwise cheat you is to be dealt with by the company, not you personally. Any company-contracted mission is offered to brethren first and associates second. Any open-call job is on a first-come basis. When operating under company control, you must obey chain of command."

"Company rules specify all participants on a mission or job receive shares of pay and plunder. They specify that quarter is to be given to enemies which surrender and abide by terms of same. They specify that the use of magic or similar abilities to create undead beings is against our articles of war."

"They specify that harming persons or property deemed non-threatening, neutral or non-combative is a violation of the articles of war. They specify that an act of violence against company members will be met with an appropriate response. Inappropriate action violates the articles of war. Do you have any questions?"

Valerie ran over all that in her head before she asked, "What do you mean by backing in times of crisis, within reason?"

Anrenay explained, "If someone attacks you without provocation and you are unable to defend yourself for whatever reason, we will shelter you and help deal with the threat. If you are deliberately inciting threats against yourself under the belief the company will take the blame for you, you will likely be left to handle it on your own."

"So don't take advantage of your protection on purpose. Okay, that all makes sense."

"Do you agree to abide by these strictures?"

"I do."

"Do you have, to your knowledge, any outstanding blood feuds or enemies?"

"No, I don't."

Anrenay slid the document around, "Sign here." Once she did, he signed elsewhere. Taking up a fresh copy of the same document, he waved the quill pen over it, said some arcane word, and released it. The pen then began to write on its own accord, copying what was on the original.

Valerie stared to see the magic in action. "Now that's a nice trick." Anrenay took up a stick of wax, lit a candle on the desk. Once it was burning he pressed the wax onto the original, then took up a seal to press into the wax, of the Brotherhood's heraldry, the roaring monster head biting down on what she now knew were the letters 'MB'.

He folded the original up and handed it to her. "There, it's official. Welcome to the Brotherhood."

Valerie tucked it away into her belt pouch. "Thanks. So do you need me for anything related to the appraisal?"

"No, we'll handle that and have someone find you when it's done. I--"

A knock on the door interrupted. Anrenay gestured to it, "Oh, would you mind?"

Valerie rose and opened it. A Hobgoblin soldier stepped in, saluted. "The Lieutenant needs to see you, sir. An urgent matter."

Anrenay returned it, "Thank you, soldier. A moment." he beckoned the soldier inside. "Go find the quartermaster and tell him to contact the gnoll, Yena Battlehowl, in regards to an appraisal."

"Yessir!" replied the soldier. At Anrenay's dismissal, he left.

Anrenay sighed and stood, collecting his hat. "What's happened now, I wonder?" he muttered.

Valerie followed him out, then watched him go about his business. Left to her own, she looked around the halls, seeing if she could relocate her bunk. It took her a few tries, but she did. She followed the side-passage back to the main hall leading in and out of the mountainside, made a mark in the stone there to help.

Heading outside, she took in the warm morning sunshine and the sights and smells of the fortress' courtyard. Soldiers at drill, work nearby in a forge, the guards on the walls keeping watch, a group of riders turning their mounts over to the stablehands. Then, from back in the hallways, she heard two blasts from a horn echo out.

Moments later, the call was repeated by someone there in the yard. Those present started to assemble near the mouth of the hall, with others coming from within to join them. Some sort of assembly, Valerie guessed, and she joined the milling throng. Murmurs of speculation filled the air.

"Iuz at it again."

"Nah, has to be Stonehold."

"Crusaders this far north? Don't be daft!"

"Somethin' off-world, I bet."

Shortly after, Comar appeared with Anrenay in tow. "Alright, listen up!" the troll called. "Urgent message just in from the Nomads. Raiding party of Frost Giants hit one o' their moots, killed some, took others captive. This is open-call, bounty is five hundred a head for the giants and a hundred a head for every captive brought back."

"How many giants?" called someone.

"Eight, plus a pack o' Winter Wolves and some lickspittle Ogres."

"How many captives?" called someone else.

"Looks like twenty. Any takers?"

Murmurs from among the crowd seemed apprehensive. Valerie thought about it, then raised her hand. "I'll go. I'll try and stop them."

Many eyes turned in her direction. Comar raised his brows, but nodded. "Alright, that's one."

Another voice piped up, "I'll help her, sir." It was Paevo.

Comar looked around, "Anyone else?"

The answering silence led him to reply, "Alright, dismissed! You two, with me." He pointed towards Valerie and Paevo.

Valerie approached and Comar said quietly, "You sure about this, with the baby and all?"

Valerie nodded, "I...we'll be okay." _I hope._

Paevo said, "Permission to withdraw a carpet from the stores, sir. The two of us can get there faster by air."

Comar nodded, "Granted. Get a big one so it'll carry both your weights. Sergeant!"

Anrenay said, "Yessir?"

"Get Wallach to contact Cedric. Tell him to search north-east of Grimtooth Circle for the giants, and report back when he sees 'em."

"Will do, sir."

Paevo spoke again, "Permission to take a crystal as well?"

Comar nodded, "Done. Go draw your gear."

Paevo gave a salute and followed after Anrenay into the halls. Valerie did likewise, finding her bunk to grab her own equipment, returning to the courtyard. Comar was waiting, and he asked, "You fight giants before?"

"Just one, in Rookroost. Their sheriff."

Comar nodded, "Yeah, he's tough, but he's just a Hill Giant. Frost Giants're tougher, and there's a pack of 'em. Giants throw rocks, expect to get stoned when you fight 'em. What about Ogres, Winter Wolves?"

"Ogres yes, Wolves no."

Comar continued, "Ogres with giants is basically slaves. They'll send 'em in first, less they need 'em to handle the captives. Winter Wolves is like dire wolves, such as Yena has, but they're creatures o' the cold. They can breathe a freezin' mist, chills you right to the bone. Frost giants keep 'em cos the breath don't bother the giants. The giants'll surround you, let the wolves stay back and use their frost breath right through 'em."

Valerie grunted with distaste to hear of that, but nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't expect 'em to surrender, either. They think that's cowardice, and it'll keep 'em from going to their god Thrym's halls in the afterlife."

Valerie shrugged, "If that's how it has to be."

Comar nodded, and stepped around before her. "Put 'em up."

Valerie looked at him curiously, "What?"

"Your claws. I wanna see if you're any good for myself."

Valerie raised her hands, stepping back. "Okay..."

Comar circled with her, testing her defenses, slashing with his own talons. He had skill and measure, for sure. Valerie was able to fend some off, but others cut at her skin. His brows rose, "You ain't no ordinary troll."

Valerie slashed at him, cutting him in turn, holding back in the force behind them as he seemed to be doing. "What do you mean?"

Comar pointed, "Yer skin, it's too hard. I thought you was different, with it bein' so shiny and all."

Around that time, Valerie heard soft grunts and snorts behind her, and turned to look at Paevo arriving, looking comically overloaded with a rug of some kind, far too wide to balance effectively on his small frame.

Valerie held up a hand to Comar, went to the kobold's side. "Need a hand?"

"Oh no, I love staggering around under things too big for me." quipped Paevo with a solid dose of sarcasm.

Valerie reached down and took up the bulky carpet from him. "So what's this for?"

Paevo looked at her with surprise, "You don't know?" He then pointed, "Unroll it on the ground."

Valerie shrugged and did so. The little kobold stepped right up on it, sat down at the near edge on the width of it. And a moment later, the carpet lifted up off the ground about a foot, hovering there. She gawped to see it, even if the sight of magic shouldn't have been such a surprise by this point. "No way. That's...a flying carpet!"

Paevo smirked, "Your gift for stating the obvious is astounding."

Valerie shook her head, "No, I mean...it's a REAL flying carpet! We have stories about these back home!"

"Perhaps it's not as ignorant a place as I thought." teased the kobold, making the carpet sweep side to side. "Well, what are you waiting for? Climb on."

Valerie looked at it with apprehension, "Does it have something to keep me on there?"

Paevo rolled his eyes, "Yes. Me. Don't tell me you're scared."

"Well...not really, just...there's no seat or anything..."

"Oh, Io's blood. Get on! We'll go slow at first until you get used to how it moves."

Valerie looked at Comar uncertainly, and the other troll said "It takes a little gettin' used to, but you'll be fine."

Valerie gingerly raised a foot and touched at its surface. It gave just a little, but felt no different than a soft carpet laid upon a solid floor. She put more of her weight, then stepped onto it. It was roughly twenty feet long and ten feet wide, with Paevo only taking up a small area near the front. She sat down cross-legged, reached to grab the sides.

"Okay, here we go." warned the kobold, and with that the carpet began to rise up in the air, until it was high enough to get over the fortress wall. He then started it moving forward, slowly turning it, making it lean. Valerie gave a sound of alarm and worked to lean her weight too, keep herself balanced.

She was reminded of riding on her Uncle Jason's motorcycle when she was little, only now, she was not little at all, there was no Uncle Jason to cling to and this motorcycle flew. But true to his word, Paevo moved along slowly, edging it forward faster and faster until they were moving at a good walking pace.

Over the wall they went, out across the countryside, and Valerie marveled to see the hills rolling out under them. "Doing okay?" asked Paevo.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good! Then let's do some turns." He started out with long, wide turns at first, tightening them up bit by bit. Valerie started to get a feel for how to balance and lean with it, keep herself upright, though she kept holding onto the sides as a precaution.

Soon, Paevo had it up to speed, about as fast as a horse's trot, crossing this way and that. The wind tossing her hair behind her, the world rushing by below her, was actually rather exhilarating and Valerie found herself starting to enjoy the ride. "Is this as fast as it goes?" she called.

"Not quite, though we go any faster and it's all straight-line movement."

"Well, let's do it!"

Paevo laughed, "Okay!" and the carpet leapt forward, doubling its speed in an instant.

Valerie gave a cry of surprise, then whooped with delight, laughing at the sensation. They flew on for a minute or two like that, before Paevo slowed them to a stop. "Alright, let me see..." he looked around, sighting by the sun which direction to go.

"Where do we need to go?" asked Valerie.

"Clawhold is roughly due east from Grimtooth Circle. If they're heading north-east from there, then we need to go..."

Valerie pointed, her orienteering skills much sharper than his. "North-west. That way."

Paevo nodded, "If you say so." He turned the carpet, and got them underway again.

Riding on the carpet required careful balance, and flexing muscles Valerie wasn't used to using for such prolonged periods. It wasn't hard on her at first, she had quite a bit of stamina. But after an hour or two, she grimaced as the tension was building. "Can we land, stretch our legs?"

Paevo said, "Sounds good, I could use one myself. Also, I'm not like you, I have to tend to other needs."

Valerie nodded. She had no clue what circumstances made trolls eliminate waste. She guessed if it was something they couldn't digest, but what that might be that was still edible, she hadn't a clue. Regardless, they sat down on the ground, and Paevo went behind a nearby bush. Valerie rose and politely looked the other way, walking around.

She was feeling additional discomfort too, from her abdomen. It was putting pressure on her there to sit like that. She rubbed again at the slightly swollen area. It still didn't seem real, but that was bound to change soon.

Paevo spoke, broke her from her reverie. "Let me contact Cedric." Reaching into a pouch on his belt, he took out a clear ball of what she guessed was crystal, roughly the size of a grapefruit. Holding it securely, he rubbed his claws around it and said, "Cedric."

Valerie saw a dot of light brighten in the center, resolving into a glow, then colors formed into blurry shapes, sharpening into the image of a hooded figure with a face not that different from Paevo's own. The scales were a brilliant white in color, eyes a piercing blue, and the reptilian snout was shorter and broader.

"Hello, Paevo." said the image in a voice that had a slight hissing growl to it. "Any luck in your search?"

"None yet, Cedric. Yours?"

"Nay, naught but miles and miles beneath us."

"Right. Any word from Wallach?"

"Nothing since earlier. Should we call for them to scry?"

"Let's wait a bit longer. If we haven't found them come midafternoon, likely they're off-course."

"Agreed. So they say it's just one troll going after them?"

"Yeah, well...Valerie's not just any troll, by all words."

"Yeah? Best of luck to her. She might need it."

"Right. Paevo out."

"Cedric out." The image in the crystal dissolved into a blur that faded to nothing but clear crystal again.

Valerie grinned, "Now that's a handy thing to have, too."

Paevo smiled toothily, "Aye, they are. Costly, but they can make all the difference in wartime."

Valerie hadn't really thought of it like that, but to imagine fighting a battle without instant communication between leaders and generals on one side while the other had it..."Yeah, I see what you mean. So, back to it?"

The kobold stretched, his semi-prehensile tail wagging back and forth in a way that made him seem much cuter than she had imagined. "Aye, let's." He climbed onto the carpet, Valerie following, and in moments they were airborne again.

The pair traveled on, until midday when they stopped to rest again, and share travel rations. "So how'd you end up with the company?" Valerie asked.

"Oh, I didn't want to spend my life inside a mine, so I looked for ways to get out and see the world. Abeir hadn't been rejoined with the rest of Toril but a few years then, and I was anxious to explore this fantastic new place beyond our enforced borders."

"Toril, that's one of the other Prime worlds. How was this Abeir place not joined with it?"

"Oh, millennia ago, the overgod of Toril segregated the land of Abeir from the rest, to trap the primordials there during the Dawn War, when they battled with the gods for control of the universe. Of course, that cut all of us off from the gods as well. It wasn't until the Godswar that the barrier separating us fell."

"What was that, the Godswar?"

"Some sort of mess in their pantheon when some among the gods stole from the overgod. In punishment, they were all sent to the Prime and made mortal. The way I hear it, some gods were killed, others changed, and some new gods arose before it was all sorted out."

Valerie shook her head, still amazed that such fantastic tales were just a matter of history here, like hearing about the change in world leaders on the news or something. "So was that strange, suddenly having the gods back?"

Paevo shrugged, "I was hatched after the Silence was ended. But some of the elders said it was. Ask me, it was good for us. We didn't have Kurtulmak bossing us around all that time."

"Who's he? The creator of the Kobolds?"

"Aye, and a massive pain in the ass, you ask me. The dragon gods are much more reasonable, most of 'em. Kurtulmak's still hung up in his endless feud with Garl Glittergold, who made the gnomes."

"Yeah, I heard kobolds and gnomes hated one another."

"I never had a problem with them. To us they were just myths. When I met my first ones, they were really apprehensive, but after I talked with them a bit they calmed down. I've seen others that looked at me like they wanted to skin me alive, and I guess that's normal, but still..." he shrugged helplessly.

"Back home we have enough trouble with differences in color of skin and home country without adding religion to the mix, much less whole other intelligent races."

Paevo gave a hissing laugh, "I suppose we all have that in common, if you want to look at it that way. We all have someone to hate and fear."

Valerie shook her head and chuckled, even if it wasn't really that funny. "Yeah, I guess. So it doesn't bother you, all the fighting?"

Paevo shook his head, "No. I was told that conflict is the nature of the universe. Something is always going to oppose something else and those aligned with the opposing sides will clash. Look at the fiends and the Blood War. Evil killing evil for millennia, all because order opposes chaos. And it's everywhere, even if we don't always see it."

Valerie nodded slowly, digesting that. "So I guess that all ties into where you go when you die, too. Gods competing for worshippers, the souls of the dead?"

Paevo nodded vigorously, "Ohhh, you'd better believe it. That's about all the devils do, really, besides scheme against one another. Try and corrupt mortal souls to Hell."

Valerie asked, "So you say devil, and I've heard others say demon. They're something different?"

"Of course. Devils are on the side of law and evil, demons on the side of chaos and evil. And in between are the daemons and demodand."

"Yeah. Where I come from, far as I know all this talk of good and evil and law and chaos is just...talk."

"It's a lot more than that here. It's not just how you're aligned, it's how the universe is aligned. Enough beings believe a certain way, and the balance will shift."

Valerie pondered that, and shook her head. "That just seems...too much to believe. But...so did turning into a giant green killing machine, a few months ago."

Paevo shrugged, "The more we know, the more we realize there is to know. Pretty sage's words, but true nonetheless."

Valerie nodded, and pointed to the carpet. "Ready to go?"

Paevo mounted it, and they were in the air again, flying around, looking everywhere for sign of the giants. It was proving fruitless, until sometime in the midafternoon, Paevo's crystal echoed out his name. He stopped the carpet and took it out, "Hello, Cedric."

"I see them. Scry my location." came Cedric's reply.

"Excellent! On our way." Paevo held the crystal up with both hands, closing his eyes. It glowed white, then gave a small flash and went clear again. He opened his eyes, tucked it away and turned the carpet, "Hang on!" he warned, before sending it forward at full speed.

"So you can use that crystal to find other crystals?"

"Only if they're made that way. Otherwise it's a contest of wills to try and scry someone, especially if they don't want you to. There are spells to stop it, but not everyone has that kind of protection."

They journeyed on until near sunset, when ahead, they saw in a hollow between hills the draconic shape of Cedric's mount and the hooded figure nearby. Dropping down and slowing to land nearby, the great white-scaled beast turned towards them, leaning forward, raising its tail over its back and rustling its leathery wings, making a low grunting sound.

Cedric stepped up to rub at the side of his wyvern's neck, "Calm, Ivy. Friends." The wyvern gave a snort, settled back and watched the two intently. "Well met." said the reptilian being, stepping forward.

Paevo approached and the two clasped arms briefly. "Cedric, Valerie Bridgewater, formerly of Earth. Valerie, this is Cedric Wyvernspur."

Cedric spoke, "Formerly of the Cormyr Wyvernspurs." He drew back his hood, revealing his scaled head in full, and gave a smile. He sported fins, she saw, two ribbed v-shaped ones tilted back near his auditory meatus, and another smaller one on the back of his head and neck.

Valerie looked him over, saw no sign of a tail beneath his robes, and said "Nice to meet you, Cedric. The giants are nearby?"

Cedric nodded and pointed, "Probably a mile that way, atop a hillside. They didn't spot me, I was sure to cloak myself. They've stopped and should be at camp now."

"Still eight of them?"

"Aye, with four Winter Wolves and five Ogres, alongside the prisoners. One, a female, seems to be their leader. She wears a breastplate and carries axe and shield instead of a greataxe. Another has a great spear with him, and seems to be carrying more rocks than normal."

Valerie nodded, "Any way I can approach and avoid being seen?"

Cedric shook his head, "From the ground, no. They're watchful. Now, if we were to drop you in from the sky..."

Valerie balked, "But I'll get hurt that way."

Cedric smiled, "Not to worry. I keep a Feather Fall spell prepared at all times, just in case. I can place it upon you, then Paevo can drop you off from high above right into their midst."

Valerie still wasn't sure about that plan, but it beat the notion of approaching on foot in full view, giving them time to bombard her from afar. "Okay." She took a deep breath, "Let's get to it."

Cedric climbed into the saddle, securing himself against the high back with a harness, then dug his heels against the side of the wyvern. "Up, Ivy!" he called, and the wyvern gave several quick beats of its wings before moving into the air. Valerie joined Paevo on the carpet, and they rose up as well, following Cedric to a height of several hundred feet.

Once he'd risen as far as he wanted, Cedric spurred Ivy forward, and the four of them flew for only a few minutes before the fire of the giants' camp was in sight. In the dimming light of the sun, Valerie could see them. They were indeed giant, as near as she could tell half again as tall as the hill giant had been.

When they arrived over top of their camp, Cedric brought Ivy into a hover, and Paevo did the same with the carpet. Cedric said, "Stand up, get ready. On your signal, I'll cast the spell. Then you need to jump, or it won't last long enough to bring you safely down."

Valerie did as he said, stepping to the edge of the carpet, looking down. _This is nuts!_ she told herself, but she drew a deep breath. "Good luck." said Paevo, and she said "Thanks." before she looked at Cedric and nodded. He made a few gestures with his hands, spoke some arcane words, and she felt a tingle of something about her.

She sensed too she could try to resist it, stop it from working, but didn't fight it. "Geronimo." she muttered to herself, and stepped over the side. She started to fall, but it wasn't a screaming plummet. Instead, she was drifting down at a steady gentle rate, though the ground was still approaching quickly.

She was coming down, it seemed, not far from one of the giants, sitting there at the fire enjoying a dinner of roasted haunch of meat. Spaced between the circle of eight were the wolves, and to the far side of her the ogres hunched, gnawing at whatever scraps the giants threw them, keeping watch over the huddle of men and women tied in ropes.

Reaching over her shoulder, she drew a spear, and when she came near to the ground she gave it a toss at the breastplate-wearing female. True to Cedric's word she landed easily on her feet, moreso than if she'd used a parachute. Her spear struck home, the female giant's cry of pain bringing shouts of alarm as she came down.

The giants reacted quickly, the nearest three rising and taking up their huge axes while the three opposite the campfire grabbed rocks from their bags to hurl at her. Towering above her, the three brought their axes down with savage cries in furious swings, while rocks flew from the hands of the others behind.

She managed to avoid any harm, though, and let loose her fury, attacking the one directly before her. Her claws tore at his midsection, teeth bit into his side, wounding him, but not dropping him. "By Thrym!" he cried at the fury of her assault. The huge white wolves then arose, moving in behind the three giants, giving forth howls as steaming cold flew from their mouths, washing over her in waves. She tried to avoid it as best she could, but it still chilled her.

The giantess rose then, readying her weapon and shield, calling forth "Thrym guide us!" A wave of energy washed out from her, colored a blue-white, flowing over all those present, including her. She felt an odd shiver pass through her, while the others seemed emboldened by it. She pointed at Valerie, waving her axe and yelling at the Ogres, "Surround the Troll!"

The ugly brutes got to their feet and started circling around, clubs at the ready, cutting off her retreat. Meantime, the one with the spear rose, weapon leaning on his shoulder as he pulled out rocks in both hands and threw them in quick succession. None landed a telling blow, however, as the other giants made their attacks anew.

Again, none could get past her defenses, and she grinned as she tore into the wounded giant. Her claws dug deep this time, tearing his guts open and sending him toppling back into the fire, dead. Slinging the bloody entrails aside, she bit into another of the three.

The giantess pointed at Valerie then, her eyes glowing white, as she cried "Thrym strike you snowblind!" She felt a burning tingle at her eyes, but no harm came to them. "Looks like Thrym's not listening!" she taunted back, and the giantess commanded, "Smite him, you ugly brutes!"

The Ogres all swung at her from behind and to the sides, but their efforts were for naught. The one with the spear finally caught her with one of his thrown rocks, but it was relatively minor. One of the giants moved forward to shore up their melee line, with axes and rocks flying at her again. One rock again managed to strike her with a small injury.

She went after the one previously wounded, causing him serious injury, while their giantess leader again worked her magic. Again Valerie shrugged it off, so too with the Ogres' attacks and the fresh barrage of rocks the spear-using giant threw.

Blows continued to fly from the other Giants, one actually managing to bite into her side with his huge axe, giving her a nastier wound than the rocks. She tore open the wounded giant, leaving him to topple, and turned to bite the one who hurt her, drawing blood from his pale blue skin.

Again the giantess tried the same spell, to no avail, much like the attacks from the Ogres and rapid-throwing giant. The second backline giant advanced to melee and their attacks came in, with no injury on her part. She lay into her third wounded giant, dealing considerable harm.

The giantess maneuvered around to one side, near the wounded giant, reaching out to touch at him, as a golden glow radiated from her hand, mending some of his injuries. Valerie sneered, "It won't save you!" as she dodged and turned aside the Ogres' attacks, fending off the rocks and axes of the Giants as well.

She ripped open the freshly-healed Giant, downing him and spitting his blood in the direction of the giantess, as the Wolves all howled again, letting loose a fresh freezing torrent upon her. "Brittle his bones!" urged the giantess. She waved her axe in the air, calling out "Let the frostfell strike!"

Suddenly, a flood of freezing hailstones rained upon Valerie, such that she had no chance to avoid them. However, she saw that three of the Ogres were being pelted by it as well, and laughed. "Thanks for the help!" she mocked the giantess, even as the attacks fell against her once more.

One of the Ogres at last managed to strike her, as the last backline giant closed into melee range, joining the others in striking fruitlessly against her. She lashed out, tearing savagely at one of the Giants, badly wounding it in a single furious assault. The giantess again worked her healing magic on the newly injured ally.

"It won't stop me!" Valerie taunted, as blows rained down upon her, an Ogre and one of the Giants wounding her. "Nor will they!" she promised, as she dealt killing blows with her claws to the wounded Giant, leaving only the two, along with the giantess and rock-thrower, biting one of the other two.

The giantess called forth another terrible hailstorm upon her, freezing and battering her, but in the process killing one of the Ogres who had been caught in the path of both downpours, and two more who had been previously uninjured. Feeling weakened now by the constant assault on all sides, Valerie just grimaced, "I'll make sure to kill you slow." she promised the giantess.

"We are as unstoppable as the coming Fimbulwinter!" swore the giant with the spear, who now took up his long-shafted weapon, circled around behind Valerie, cutting off her easy retreat as the others all struck at her. One dealt another blow with his axe. Valerie was bloodied and chilled now, but she was far from defeated.

"Fimbulwinter this!" she yelled, attacking the injured axe-wielder, who was healed by the giantess immediately after. The others attacked once more, to no effect. The giantess called down another storm of ice, but this time, it rained harmlessly upon her, her inherent resistance to magic protecting her even as it slew the remaining two Ogres.

Valerie laughed again to see the spell accomplish nothing, fending off the spear and axe of the other two Giants. She went in again at the wounded axe-wielder, the last of the six still up. The Wolves then unleashed another howling blast from their maws, chilling her anew. This time she wasn't so successful weathering it, and the cold bit deep.

Seeing her shiver, the giantess laughed now, and called "Surround her!" The Wolves moved into position around her as the giantess came around before her, swinging her own axe now. Valerie avoided it, and the spear and axe of the remaining two giants. Her claws bit into the other greataxe wielder, tearing him open as well, gnashing her teeth at the giantess.

Now in close, the Wolves all lunged in, biting at her, but none could find purchase with their cold-empowered jaws. Likewise she avoided the spear and axe of the giant and giantess, before turning her attention to the nearest wolf. They moreso than the giants had done her harm, but until now the giants had kept them shielded from her.

Not any longer. She quickly tore one of the bizarre creatures' heads open, turning to bite at the giantess again. The remaining three bit at her again, and while she avoided them the giant managed to stab her with his spear, wounding her anew. Her rage nearly spent, Valerie kept up her wolf-killing, striking a second one down.

Again she bit at the giantess, enjoying the slow process of wounding against her. Much sooner than she expected, though, the Wolves unleashed another freezing blast against her. Though reduced in number, the cold still posed problems for her. The chill sapped her strength, and she began to wonder if she could really do this without dropping from her injuries.

A third Wolf died to her claws, and she harried the giantess with her teeth, even as she was struck back with the giantess' axe. "You are weakening, Troll! And when you fall, by Thrym, you will burn!" she promised. Valerie avoided the Wolf and the spear of the giant, turning to tear off the last Wolf's face before biting the giantess.

Her rage was fading, as she turned towards the last giant, ducking under his spear thrusts and avoiding the giantess' axe when she exposed herself to turn on him, swinging in to swat at the giant. Fatigue crashed into her as her primal power fled from her, despite managing to tear at the giant.

He stepped back, jabbing with his spear, but to no avail. She came forward, tearing at him. He backpedaled again, thrusting away, as the giantess also swung at her, but they couldn't stop her from moving in and ripping the giant's arm off, sending him down in a spray of blood.

Valerie turned and grinned at the giantess, "Just you and me now." she taunted, to which the giantess gave a roar and on swinging, cutting Valerie, but only with a minor wound. Even exhausted as she was now, she was healing more than she was being harmed. Her claws slashed in, tearing the giantess down to her knees. Bent, bloody, nearly gone.

But still her eyes were defiant, which evoked a grudging respect from Valerie, even as she said "Give my regards to Thrym." before she lunged in with her teeth, biting the giantess' throat, tearing it open and spitting her flesh out onto the ground. With a last choked gurgle, she fell with the others, leaving only the huddled captives, who had witnessed the entire spectacle of embattled giants.

Valerie sat down then upon the ground, breathing heavily. "Be with you in a minute." she told the people in the Common tongue, having spoken Giant to the enemy as they had spoken it to her in turn. From above, she heard the sound of wingbeats as Cedric and Ivy descended, Paevo alongside on the carpet.

The wyvern sniffed at the body of one of the dead giants, and when not restrained from doing so, began to feast upon it with noisy crunching noises. Cedric dismounted and Paevo stood from the carpet, both moving to the collective prisoners. "It's alright, we were sent to free you and return you to your clan." said Cedric.

The assembled people spoke among themselves in a language Valerie didn't understand, as the two worked to cut the people free from their bondage. Valerie rose and approached, grabbing up her spear from earlier before assisting. The people looked at her with a mixture of fear, respect and gratitude, though one or two seemed angry.

One man spoke up, and Cedric replied, "Yes, we were hired. But you are free now thanks to our aid." he pointed out patiently. That made a couple of them sneer, and give forth what Valerie guessed were unhappy opinions on the matter. She frowned, but said nothing.

Once they were all free, many of them moved to gather the remains of the food the giants had with them and start distributing it among themselves. Paevo offered his ever-full water skin, showing them first it was so, and they passed it about gratefully.

"We're to escort you safely back." Paevo explained. "We'll remain here and keep watch, then see you home soon as we can." The sun was all but set now, and Paevo pointed. "Let's make camp down there away from the dead." Valerie nodded, and went down the hillside to set up her tent.

They got a fire going, and the people gathered about, talking amongst themselves. Valerie had her fill of the rations Paevo had brought, then settled in to rest. Well, if some wanted to be ungrateful, that was their business. She just wanted to get paid for her work.

The next morning she rose to find the folk milling around, foraging for food. She went up the hill after she broke her fast and packed her tent to collect the giant heads as proof of their deaths. Once it was done, Cedric and Ivy bid them farewell, returning towards Clawhold while she and Paevo set out for the Nomads' moot site.

Things were slowed, as the people had no food, nor she and Paevo enough to feed all twenty of them. They were skilled at gathering, even with a general lack of tools. They'd salvaged a certain number of things from the bags of the giants, none of whom seemed to have possessed anything worth hauling back as plunder.

The Nomads mostly kept to themselves, spoke to each other in their own tongue and only to her and Paevo as they needed to. They made camp, rested, journeyed another day, then around midday on the third day of travel, they saw the circle of standing stones where the Nomads gathered.

The people raced ahead to meet with their kinfolk and friends, welcomed into the circle of large tents erected nearby. Numerous warriors prowled nearby, and one approached. "You are the ones who rescued our kin?" they asked. Valerie nodded, "And slew the giants." She produced one of the giants' bags, "Here's your proof of death."

Escorted into the gathering throng, stared at by many present, Valerie approached one, older man with a similarly aged woman at his side, dressed more ornately than the rest. They indicated the bag, and Valerie spilled forth the eight heads of the Frost Giants, to much acclaim when the Nomads all saw them.

The two elders spoke with one another, and the man said, "You have done as you were asked. We thank you for your help, and offer you this in reward." He gestured to a nearby hut, and from within came another pair of men, carrying a stout wooden chest. They opened it, and from within drew a dozen bars of some brilliant silver-white metal.

Paevo's eyes lit up and he grinned. "And we thank you very much for it." He bowed to them, and collected the bars. "Platinum trade bars. Each worth five hundred gold." he explained to Valerie. She nodded, packing them away, better capable of hauling their weight than the kobold.

"Thank you. I hope your people remain safe from harm." Valerie said, and after a moment's indecision, bowed to the elders. Everyone tended to assume she was male, so best respond like that and avoid confusion. "May you have safe journeys until the end of your days." replied the elder man, and bowed his head to them.

With that done, she and Paevo climbed upon their carpet and were soon off again, heading for Clawhold. They traveled until the evening, camped, then traveled all the following day until they arrived at Clawhold once more that evening. When they returned, Comar met them in the hallway. "You got the captives back fine? And paid what you were owed?"

Paevo saluted, "Aye we did, sir. Six thousand gold, all told." Valerie produced the trade bars, and Comar gave a broad smile. "Nothin' like a nice, shiny payday." Valerie stretched, "I dunno. A good hot meal and a bed sound just as good right now." Comar chuckled, "Yeah, felt that, too. You find your way around okay?"

Valerie pointed towards Paevo, "If not, that's what the _talarmat_ is for." Comar gave a bark of laughter to hear her use that term, and Paevo snorted. "Laugh it up, giants. I'll remember this when the time comes for me to save you." But there was no real rancor behind it.

With that, Comar left the pair to go to the mess hall, get a meal of leftovers, then find their way to their separate bunks. Valerie felt skunky, from not having bathed for a few days, but that was a problem for later. For now, she was ready to get a good night's sleep.


	11. Seas of Silver

She was drifting far above the land, watching the green hills and woods roll by. Rivers strung upon the land like ribbons, with other light-colored bands and patches showing bare earth or different-colored vegetation. It was quite pleasant to look up, actually. But then the view began to slow, and she saw movement. People?

Here and there, it looked like groups of them, moving in a coordinated fashion. And ahead, another large group, moving like a stream of water flowing against the contours of the land. Soon they met, the large group swarming around the smaller groups.

The large group seemed to be wicking away at the smaller groups, reducing them. She realized she was seeing, from far above, a battle of some kind. The large group was losing some numbers too, but it didn't seem it was as fast. But then, from the sides, new groups arrived, drawing at the large group.

The large group began to split, trying to spread itself, as the smaller groups drew apart, separating the large group further. Then, as their individual groups began to break free of the swarming enemy, coming together themselves to reduce the numbers of the once-large group all the faster. Before long, the large group was all but gone.

A handful of them were streaming away, fleeing the battle, and the many smaller groups came together and milled about as one. Victory was theirs. It was then her view shifted, and she saw standing there a regal if stern-looking dark-haired woman, wearing bright red plate armor, hands resting on a sword tipped to the ground.

She said, "There is no foe too great that a sound strategy and proper execution cannot overcome."

Valerie awoke, feeling her body burning with the sensation of now-familiar growth spurts. Energy surged in her as she sat up, groaned. "You'd think these gods or whatever would--"

Thump, thump.

She stopped, feeling the sensation of movement, down inside her body, there in her stomach. She looked down, and saw the curve had grown since last night. For whatever reason, her growth seemed to have spurred her pregnancy forward. And--

Thump, thump, thump.

"Holy shit." she breathed, rubbing her hand tentatively against her stomach in wonder. That was...him. Or her. Her baby, moving inside her. She sat there, mind spinning to process that. Being told she was pregnant was one thing. Feeling that growth in her midsection another. But this...there was no more definitive proof of life she'd been given.

Thump, thump.

It was at once exhilarating and terrifying to consider, to feel and to know. She was going to be a mother. She sat there for several minutes. She had to find out more about this. How far along was she? Did she give birth like a human does? What do baby trolls need? Unless someone around here was an expert, she'd need to find one.

And to do that, she imagined she was going to need money. Rising from her bunk, she looked around, and frowned. But first she really needed to wash. Where was she gonna get some water? Just then, a knock sounded at the door. "Come in." she said.

The door opened, and Paevo stuck his snout in, "Good day. I was hoping--" he stopped, and peered more closely at her. "Did you just get bigger again?"

Valerie nodded, and pointed to her midsection. "And bigger."

The kobold came in, peering up at her, and especially her stomach. "Well, so you did."

Valerie gave a smile, cradled it. "I felt it moving for the first time. My baby."

Paevo shuddered, "Ugh, you scaleless ones! How can you stand to feel your young squirming around like that? When you could lay nice neat eggs instead of having them come out of you covered in..." he made an expression of disgust, and a hissing spat. His behavior was so unexpectedly fussy, Valerie had to laugh.

"I guess when you put it that way, it is kinda messy and gross." she allowed. She didn't dare question how female kobolds' egg-laying went, instead said "Where can I get some hot water? I wanna wash up, it's been days..."

Paevo sniffed, "I noticed. I considered wiping you down with Prestidigitation before we got back, but..." he shrugged. "Anyway, you can get some from the mess, or I could just magic it away, my spell's still active from where I used it earlier."

Valerie said, "Would you? I'd appreciate that. But that's not why you came around."

Paevo gestured at her, and she felt it, that mystic force moving over her, stripping away the grime and grue that had built up during their excursion - adventure, she supposed - to rescue those Nomads. "No, I came to talk with you about shares of the bounty from our trip. I know Cedric and I didn't contribute to the fight directly, but we feel some sort of reward is in order."

Valerie nodded, sighing as she felt progressively cleaner. "Okay, what did you have in mind?"

Paevo said, "A full share split between us."

Valerie asked, "You mean, half of a half to each of you?" Paevo nodded. Valerie said, "So that'd mean I get three thousand, and you each get..."

"Fifteen hundred."

Valerie considered it. It had made it easy on her for them to scout out the giants and use their magic to drop her in on top of them. Just as she'd given Yena, or was going to give Yena, a half share for her own scouting work with the orc company. "Yeah, that sounds fair." she agreed.

Paevo gave a bright smile, "Good, I'll let him know. You still have the money?"

Valerie nodded, "Over there in that backpack." she pointed.

Paevo finished cleansing her, and said "Tell you what, I'll even throw in a cleansing of your gear, free of charge."

Valerie snorted, "Such a generous offer." she said dryly, but she was grateful for his magical aid in these mundane chores.

"I know. That's us kobolds, small of stature, but giant of heart." He opened the pack, counted out six of the trade bars, then worked his spell to cleanse her equipment as well. "Nice working with you, and congratulations on your baby's..." he made a face. "Yeah." and collected the bars before leaving her.

As she left herself to attend breakfast, it reminded her she needed to sort out what she could get for all the armor and weapons she and Yena had looted from the orcs. And probably not a bad idea to ask about the value of the Ogre axe she'd also taken a while back.

She figured she would keep the mail she'd taken, it was handy for times when her primal fury wasn't bolstering her toughness. That again reminded her of Comar's comments about her skin, and her not being an ordinary troll. "Ah, my schedule just keeps filling up." she joked to herself.

Once she'd queued up and gathered her meal, settled in to eat, Yena came around. She too tilted her head with curiosity in that doglike fashion as she asked, "Did you get bigger?" Valerie smiled, "Yes, and so has the little one. He - or she - is moving around."

Yena gave a delighted grin, "Oh, you feel your pup inside you! I remember first feeling that..." she mused, a bittersweet recollection. Several moments passed in reverie, then she said "I have the appraisal from the quartermaster. All that needs be done is us signing off on it."

Valerie nodded, "How much did it come to?"

"Well, after fees for their handling, identifying the magical items...thirty-two thousand gold."

Valerie nearly spit her porridge across the table. "Thirty-two...THOUSAND?!?"

Yena nodded, "I told you it would be a nice payday."

Valerie choked down her mouthful, "Yeah, I'd say so! Shit...I thought getting three thousand for that rescue job was a lot!"

"Oh, did you? That's pretty good for contract pay. Usually it's more about shares of plunder."

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, I'm seeing that...so how much does that make your end?"

"Eight thousand."

"Which leaves....twenty-four for me." Valerie grinned, "Yeah, that's gonna help a lot."

Yena smiled, "You should think about investing some in equipment. It can make a big difference out there."

Valerie shrugged, "I've done pretty good so far without anything special. This has been handy..." she brushed at her armor, "but outside of some spears, I haven't needed much else."

"Well, you are a troll. And I'm guessing you haven't had to deal much with spellcasters."

"There was one among the giants. She was kind of annoying, but about all she did was slow me down some, toss some hail on top of me. The Winter Wolves were worse, breathing all that freezing mist shit."

"You'll have to tell me about that later. But there are all manner of foes out there who can be difficult to harm without enchanted weaponry, or weapons made from the right substances. Even aligned to proper forces."

Valerie considered that, "But the problem is I don't use much in the way of weapons. Throwing spears, that's all."

"There are items for enhancing your natural weapons. Ask Comar, I think he has one."

"Yeah, I will. Need to talk to him anyway." She said, "We'll go when I'm done, okay?"

Yena nodded and moved away, letting Valerie finish her meal. Once she was done, the pair made their way to the quartermaster, where the documents detailing the items and their values were shown. Valerie saw that all their armor and around half the axes they'd used were enchanted, which seemed to explain why it was so much.

Once she and Yena both signed the documents for the transaction, the quartermaster asked, "Who d'you want your writ with?"

Yena said, "Lenders."

Valerie said, "Writ?"

The quartermaster signed, and said in slightly tired and condescending fashion, "Writ of credit. I can issue one from the company itself, or from the Moneylenders' Guild in Sigil."

It took Valerie a moment to realize he was talking about what she knew of as a check. To her mind, that was what old people who didn't understand how to use technology(or were just being stubborn)used. They took forever to write, and she always got tired of waiting when she got caught behind some doddering granny lady at the store.

"I'm guessin' you don't have an account with the Moneylenders. I'll make it out from the company. You'll have to take it to the quartermaster's office at the Main Hall in Sigil." He wrote out the document, stamped it, rolled it and handed it to her, then filled in a much smaller note for Yena, stamped it. "Now don't eat it or lose it or anything." he told Valerie.

She frowned at being talked to like she was mentally defective, "Yeah, I'll have to strain myself, but I'll manage." she groused. He just fixed her with a decidedly unimpressed look and went away with the paperwork. Yena tucked her note away and gave Valerie a pat on the arm.

"Don't mind him, I think they hire people like that on purpose for this job." said the gnoll.

Valerie grunted, "My dad used to say 'When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.' " Yena's confused look made her fight not to laugh at how adorably doglike the gnoll seemed in that moment. "Yeah, that's about what I said the first time. He said when you deal with the same problem over and over and over, you start assuming everyone with that problem has the same cause."

Yena nodded slowly, "I see what you mean." She shrugged, "I have what I came for, that's good enough." She left, and Valerie followed.

"So I guess if I take this to Sigil they'll pay me in cash? Or coin, whatever?" Valerie asked.

Yena nodded, "Trade bars, probably. Though if you're gonna do business out on the planes with the Brotherhood, it's smart to get an account. Anyone can create one for savings, but you have to register as a citizen of Sigil if you want to be able to issue a writ to others."

Valerie nodded, "So the Moneylenders wouldn't give me coin without one?"

"They would, but without an account, they take a percentage for themselves."

Valerie made a face, "Okay, I see. Thanks."

Yena smiled, "Of course."

Valerie snapped her fingers, "Oh! I have an axe I wanna sell, too. Can I just do that here?"

"Sure, take it to the quartermaster, same as the rest of the stuff we brought."

Valerie nodded, and waved as Yena did likewise, going about her own business. Not wanting to deal with the officious creep of a quartermaster again so soon, she instead went looking for Comar. After asking a couple of brethren, she was pointed in the direction of the courtyard.

There under the cloudy morning sky she saw the troll, sparring with his sword against...another extremely strange being. If the Thri-Kreen were mantisfolk, this thing must've been some kind of beetle-creature, though its posture at times reminded her more of a gorilla. It was around eight feet tall, but was much wider in build, with massive forearms and powerful claws, as well as a huge pair of pincers to the sides of its mouth.

Its chitinous form was a bronze color, with a large rounded head and antennae rising from the sides. Strangely, it was wearing a blindfold over what she suspected were large compound eyes, as well as a loose pale yellow jacket that reminded her of something from a martial-arts movie. It moved about slowly, staying low and forward, but there was a calculated awareness about it.

Comar came in with his greatsword, and the buglike being dodged it nimbly, sweeping low with one arm, trying to trip him up. Comar dodged aside, came in, and the bug blocked the blow and thrust one massive hand forward. Not with its claws, but as a fist. It slammed into Comar's gut, and the troll grunted, nodding to his opponent. The two continued exchanging strikes for a minute or two before Comar noticed Valerie there.

"Hold up, Jak!" he said, slinging the blade onto his shoulder. The buglike being stopped, and Comar called, "Morning!" Valerie waved and approached. As she drew near, the buglike being turned towards her, looking right in her direction. Comar sized her up and said, "Still growing, huh?"

Valerie nodded, "Yeah. Almost as big as you, now."

Comar gave a snaggle-toothed grin. "In some ways. Bigger in others." He peered at her stomach, "That grew too?"

"Yeah, I don't get why."

Comar shrugged, "Never seen a female who was still growing and pregnant."

"So this is normal? Growing in spurts?"

Comar waved a hand, "Oh, sure. We trolls grow steady to a point, then it kinda jumps around until we're full-sized. You're prolly almost done." He then looked at the buglike being, "This is Valerie, by the way. New associate. She went on that giant-killing job we just had."

The buglike being regarded her, then spoke in a deep, rumbling, buzzing voice that reminded Valerie of someone using a microphone on a bass amp with too much feedback. "Greetings, Valerie. I am Blind Jak, one of The Claw and the Brotherhood."

Valerie nodded, surprised to hear it speak, "Yeah, nice to meet you."

Comar grinned, "Never met an Umber Hulk, huh? You usually don't see 'em around like this. But ole Jak's an odd one, same as the rest of us. He's not really blind, by the way. He just wears that cos it's easier on him and the rest of us."

Jak said, "Correct. Restraining my gaze for too long makes my head hurt. My other senses are keen enough. Still, I would like to see you. Do not be alarmed."

Valerie felt apprehensive at that warning, but she held fast as the Umber Hulk reached up to move his blindfold aside. She saw then the large, compound eyes, and something about them, the way they caught the light, like a thin slick of oil in the light, reflecting colors, it made her feel light-headed, woozy...

Then he replaced the blindfold, and the sensations vanished. She shook her head, "What was that?!?"

Jak explained, "My kind project a magical effect from their eyes which causes great confusion in other beings. It can be very helpful in hunting prey, but it means our dealings with other races are often difficult. I have learned through much practice to restrain it, but even so, some effect is still felt." To Comar he said, "She reminds me of Varrok."

Comar nodded, "Yeah, I think she's one of his kind."

Valerie said, "Who's that, and what kind do you mean?"

"He's one of the founders of the Brotherhood. He used to be a regular old troll like me, but the Legion captured him, turned him into a War Troll, tried to use him against the others."

Valerie frowned, "What's the difference?"

"Stronger, tougher, smarter, more human-like."

Valerie nodded, "I thought it was cos I was female."

Comar shook his head, "Nah, all War Trolls look like you, pretty much. Dunno why. Guess it has to do with however that ritual works. It's like an Ironskin spell, I think. That's why some call 'em Ironskin trolls. Others call 'em Adamantine trolls, cos of their claws, teeth and skin."

Valerie nodded, "I see. Is that why I can bite through metal and carve stone like it was dirt?"

"Sure is. Adamantine's so sharp and hard it goes through most anything."

"Huh." she digested that, then said "Sorry to interrupt your sparring."

Comar waved a dismissive hand, "We were about done anyway."

"Yes," interjected Jak. "I was about to win."

Comar snorted by way of reply, "Did you need something?" he asked Valerie.

She nodded, "You already answered my first question, about myself. Yena said something to me about magic items that enhance my claws and teeth, and that you had one."

Comar nodded, "Yeah, one of these." He reached under his shirt, pulled out a necklace strung with bits of bone, and what looked like teeth and claws. "Called an Amulet of Natural Attacks. They can enchant 'em and it'll work with all your natural weapons."

Jak raised his head, showing that around his own neck there was one like it. "They are very useful to all kinds of unarmed fighters, not merely we savage folk." he added.

Comar nodded, "If you want a good one, make sure it has an Adaptation enchantment on it. That helps when you run up against something that's resistant not just to nonmagical weapons, but anything that's not silver, or cold iron, or aligned..."

Jak added, "Or adamantine."

Valerie nodded thoughtfully, "How much does that cost?"

Comar said, "All told, you'd be out...somewhere between eighteen and nineteen thousand gold."

Valerie balked, "That's like two-thirds of my money!"

Comar shrugged, "What good's money when you're dead cos you weren't prepared to fight what just jumped you?"

Valerie frowned, but had no good retort to that. "I've got other stuff I need to worry about first. I wanna find out more about being a mother troll, and I need to get going on finding a way home."

Comar said, "Well, I might be able to help some with the first. The other, you're gonna need to go to Sigil. Ask Anrenay to write you a travel pass." He walked over to a nearby water barrel, took up the dipper hanging on a nail to the side, had a drink.

Jak said, "I have digging to do. Good day, Comar. It was nice to meet you, Valerie." He lumbered away.

"Digging?" asked Valerie.

"Yeah, Umber Hulks spend most of their time underground. He can go through rock and soil like a whole gang of miners wish they could. Mighty handy when you wanna break in somewhere and the front, back and side ways are all too well-guarded." explained Comar. "But enough about that. What d'you wanna know about troll mothers?"

Valerie scratched at her head, feeling a little weird talking about it, but said "Well, how long does it take, usually? And, do we give birth like humans do? And, what do baby trolls need?"

"Around a year. Far's I know, it's like humans and other races what don't lay eggs. You just...push 'em out of you when it's time. I never stuck around to see. I like my parts where they're at." He considered his reply, then said "Baby trolls just need food and water, like all babies. At first they got no teeth, so they need your milk. But once they grow in they can eat whatever you toss their way."

The idea of giving milk was very odd, especially after going so long with no real breasts to speak of. "How long does it take for their teeth to grow in?"

"Couple weeks."

Valerie raised her brows, "That's it?"

Comar grinned, "Ain't you realized? There's three things trolls do really well. The first is heal. The second is kill. And the third is eat."

"How long until...we're full-grown?"

Comar shrugged, "Ten years or so."

"What's it like, you know? Growing up?"

Comar frowned, "Rough. All we do is hunt for food, kill our food, eat our food. And pretty much anything alive is food. Sometimes, we might play with our food. And sometimes, when we can't find food...we become food."

Valerie grimaced to hear that, shivering as she remembered that monster tormenting her, eating parts of her.

Comar looked at her strangely, but didn't ask. Instead he said, "It's just part of troll life. You eat or you're eaten. Once you're big enough to stop the others, you're grown up."

Valerie shook her head, "That's...so horrible."

Comar nodded, "It is. It's why I left when I found somethin' better. But like Varrok told me once, it's why we're so fearless in a fight. It's cos outside of gettin' burnt up, there's nothin' other folk can do to us we ain't already done to one another hundreds of times."

Valerie had only one reply to that. "Not for my baby."

Comar grunted noncommittally, and went around to a small armory, leaving the sword there. "I got work I should do. Worst thing about bein' in charge, everyone expects you to do all the work they don't wanna deal with." He sighed, and gave Valerie a wave. "See ya. Have a nice trip, if you're headed out to Sigil soon."

Valerie gave one in return, and after looking around the courtyard returned inside the halls, seeking out Anrenay. When she found his office, knocked, he called "Enter!" When she did, she saw he wasn't alone. There on his disk was a little winged lizard-being. A dragon of some kind?

It had rusty-red scales, dark curved horns, and what looked like a stinger on its tail. Yet unlike the Wyvern, it had forelimbs and separate batlike wings on its shoulders. It regarded her with a curious and thoughtful expression, then gazed at Anrenay once more. "Be with you in a minute, Valerie." the Ettercap said.

She nodded and waited as the two sat there in silence, looking at one another. She wondered what was going on, as she studied the little dragon. But after a short while, Anrenay looked at her and said, "Apologies. May I introduce Wallach? She's another member of The Claw. A Pseudodragon, if you're wondering."

"Oh? Hey. Yeah, you were helping us on that giant-killing gig, right?"

The little dragon cocked her head curiously, and after a moment Valerie heard a voice, but not in her ears. In her head.

_What did fishing have to do with it?_

Valerie was startled by that, and Anrenay made a chittering sound. "Not used to telepathy, hmm? It's how her kind communicates."

Valerie shook her head, and now realized why they'd just been sitting there in silence. "Uh, nothing. Just an expression from back home."

_I see. Yes, I did help with some scrying._

Valerie nodded, and said, "Uhm...you didn't want a share of the bounty, did you? I gave Paevo and Cedric shares for their help."

_You're kind to offer. But no, I didn't participate enough for that._

Wallach flapped her wings, raising up and flying over to land atop Valerie's shoulder, perching there lightly. She sniffed at the troll, her tail dropping down along Valerie's back. _You're expecting a child? My congratulations. I have a clutch of wyrmlings myself. Adorable and wonderful and infuriating and tiresome, all at once._

Valerie gave a small, nervous laugh, "Yeah, thanks. It's...nothing I expected."

The dragon peered intently at her, then dropped off and glided back over to Anrenay's desk. _Speaking of, I should look in on them, make sure they haven't driven my mate into a stinging fury. It was nice to meet you, Valerie._ The dragon looked at the door, made a few gestures and growled something, and a glowing blue hand appeared to turn the knob.

"Uh, yeah. Nice meeting you." Valerie was a bit weirded out by the sight of the magical hand appearing, opening the door. Wallach lifted into the air and flew off, the door closing behind her moments later. Valerie rubbed at her scalp, "That's...new."

Anrenay gave another chittering laugh, "We are odd, even among the Brotherhood. But it's what helped make us so strong together. Have you met Blind Jak?"

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, not long ago."

Anrenay nodded, "He and Wallach traveled together for some time, much as Comar, Durlob and myself did. We met when both our groups were chasing a bounty one of the bandit lords had posted, and decided it was better to work together and share than face one another and the bounty and all lose out. It worked out very well, so we stuck together."

Valerie nodded, and then asked, "So is she how you can talk to Durlob?"

Anrenay said, "She's the most efficient way. Comar and I worked out a system of Yes/No movements with him well before then. His speech is...a bit strange, but he gets his point across. At one time, we tried fashioning a Helm of Telepathy for him, but after a while he returned it. Apparently trying to talk to so many people upset him, when they reacted poorly to his odd manner of speech."

Valerie nodded and remembered being in school, with a special ed kid who had a strong speech impediment, and how cruel others were in mocking it. She imagined it was a little like that, suddenly being able to talk to everyone and then seeing how they react. "Yeah, that's a shame."

Anrenay nodded, "At least he has us, his brothers-in-arms. Now..." the Ettercap leaned forward over his desk. "What can I help you with?"

Valerie straightened, "I need a travel pass, I wanna go to Sigil. Need to get paid, see if I can find out a way to get back home."

"Ah, of course. Just a moment." He found a document, took a blank piece of paper, and used the magic pen he'd used before to make a copy of it. Then he stuck the original away and filled out the second one. "Now, you're authorized to return here anytime you want, but it'll need to be a week from today before you can go anywhere else besides via Midway. Understood?"

Valerie nodded, "What's...Midway?"

Anrenay said, "It's a demiplane, controlled by the Brotherhood. Through it we maintain our network of portals, letting us move to the various worlds where we're established. It's where we store valuable equipment not immediately needed. Luckily too, it links into Sigil, which is a valuable commodity."

"Why's that?"

"Because unless you go through an existing portal, it's impossible to enter Sigil by any other means. Not physically, not magically. Not even the gods themselves can penetrate it. Generally speaking, their followers are allowed to receive divine magic still, but The Lady can shut that off any time she wants, the same as she controls the portals."

"Is she the ruler?"

"And much more. She is the one and only power where Sigil's concerned. If anyone tries to make themselves a threat to the city, she will act with swift and terrible justice. It's unlikely you'll see her, but if you do spy her, avoid calling attention to yourself. She's been known to cause some spectacular deaths to dissidents."

"What does she look like?"

"A woman in a near-featureless mask, wearing a long dress festooned with razor-sharp blades. Chances are if she does appear, everyone nearby who spots her will go silent immediately."

"Right, gotcha. Anything else I should know?"

"Hire a guide. It's easy to get lost there."

Valerie nodded, took the document and tucked it away. "Where do I go to take the portal?"

Anrenay gave her directions, and Valerie nodded. "Thanks again."

"Of course, safe journeys."

She left, returned to her bunk and gathered her things before she went to find the room where the portal was kept. Upon arriving, she saw the door was under guard. She approached, showed them her document. One produced a wand from his belt, said "Gotta mark you."

She nodded, and he waved it at her. She felt the magic tickle at her, and didn't try to stop it. There upon her shoulder, an arcane symbol appeared, then faded from view. They let her inside, where she could hear and see the portal floating there next to the wall. On either side of it stood two large metal statues. Or so she thought, until their heads turned towards her. She felt a tingle again as a faint haze of energy washed over her, the mark glowing.

Then, each statue returned to what she guessed was a rest position. Even big as she was, these things were several feet taller still, like tremendous suits of animated armor. Another pair of guards sat there at a table, engaged in what she guessed was a card game, though there were dice present as well. One got up, walked over to the gateway, marked by a series of runes on the wall. He produced another wand, waved it. The runes all began to glow, and then she saw the portal open up. "Keep your papers ready." he said, before returning to sit.

Valerie walked up, hesitated a moment, then stepped through. It felt much like the other portals she'd traveled through before, that dry diving-water sensation with the momentary blackness, before she was in another room, much like the one she'd just left, only it seemed to be made from cut pieces of masonry, instead of just smoothed-out natural rock. More guards awaited, along with another pair of those metal statues, that again scanned over her.

The guards looked at her papers, then directed her to the nearby door. "Going to Sigil." he called as she opened the door. Outside, another guard looked up at her, then stepped forward. "Follow me." he said, and set off down what to Valerie seemed like a single long hall, lit with those same blue torches they used everywhere. It looked to her like it just went on and on forever in both directions.

It didn't take long before she began passing other doors in this stone hallway. No other guards were visible, nor was there sign of anyone else traveling through here. It was like something out of a weird movie, and it made her feel kind of anxious. But she followed along, until at last the guard stopped, knocked at a door.

It opened, and inside she found more guards, more statues. Her escort left and these guards again asked to see her papers. It was starting to feel a little intrusive, but their bored, matter-of-fact handling of it helped keep her from feeling too put upon. Again, a gateway was present, and once more, one of the guards rose, using a wand to activate it. "Keep your papers ready." he advised.

She went through, and this time, though guards and statues were again present, she seemed to be in a building, judging by the wooden floor and walls. The guards checked her papers, and said "Welcome to Sigil." before settling down again. Valerie crossed to the door leading from the room, tucking her papers away.

Outside, a hallway stretched to either side, turning a corner to her right side, leading to a stairwell. The guard said "Down the stairs to leave." Valerie muttered thanks, and followed his instructions, passing a few landings on the squared-off pattern of descent, ducking to keep from hitting her head.

At the bottom, she found herself in a foyer area, where she spotted the banner of the company hung before a group of five granite statues. One of the largest, she saw, was a troll, much like her. Another was an ogre, a third a hobgoblin, a fourth a kobold, and a fifth was one of the gith. Githzerai, by her dress.

According to their plaques, these were the founding members of the company. Varrok, Bork Stonemaul, Garthak Spinebreaker, Drake Redscale and Lliness. Valerie looked them over for a minute, then turned to the double doors leading out of the building.

Into the yard, the first thing that hit her was the smell. More than just the smoke and manure odors around the stronghold, this reminded her of returning to the city once as a child after she'd spent nearly a week on a camping trip. How much more you noticed the scent of civilization. Only where that had been a slap, this was a full-on beatdown.

She coughed and gagged, looking at the grey sky of the city. And above it...more city? She stared to see that in the distance, the city didn't just extend. It curved, upwards, into a ring that went all the way overhead and back down. "What the Hell??" she muttered.

A passing orc stopped and grinned, tusks poking out. "First time here, eh? Takes some gettin' used to." he commented.

"Yeah, tell me about it..." Valerie returned, still looking up, then down at the soldier there.

"Where you in from?" the orc asked.

"Clawhold. I just joined up, week ago."

"Rawhide, huh? Welcome to the Brotherhood."

"Thanks. Where can I find the quartermaster? Need to get paid."

"Right around this way." The orc motioned for her to follow. As she did, Valerie saw the reinforced stone wall and gates surrounding the place, a series of buildings made from wood. He led her along a path and behind the hall where she'd come out, then pointed. "It's that one there."

"Thanks." said Valerie, and the orc nodded before going on his way. She made her way down there and inside, stooping to get through the doorway. At least the buildings seemed to have been built with giants in mind, though her head was in danger of hitting the ceiling.

Inside she saw there at a counter another orc and some tall humanoid she'd never seen before. Somewhere between seven and eight feet, he had skin that was a piebald combination between grey and white, a muscular build and a bald head. Here and there keratinous bumps adorned his skin.

The two were engaged in that cards-and-dice game she'd seen others playing before. The orc looked up and grunted, "Help you?" Valerie removed her writ of credit and laid it down, "Like to get paid." The orc set his cards down and looked it over. "How you want this?"

Valerie shrugged, "Trade bars, I guess?" The orc looked down under the counter, and grumbled. "Hoy! Get some more plat bars!" he said to the other figure, who sighed, set his hand down, and started into the back. "Lookit my cards an' I'll gut you." he promised. Once he was out of sight...the orc looked at his cards, gave Valerie a grin and a wink.

Valerie just smirked and shook her head. A minute or so later, the other being returned carrying a wooden crate. They broke it open, dug out more of the silver-white bars of platinum, and the orc counted out forty-eight in total. "Okay, there ya go. Sign here." She did so, and started piling the bars into her backpack.

When she'd finished, she drew the Ogre's axe from her back. "Could I get this...appraised, or whatever? Wanna sell it."

The orc, who'd just picked up his hand again, sighed. "Awright." He dug out a form, wrote down some information, had her produce her membership papers, and sign the form. "Should have it afore closin' time." he said with a bored tone, and gave Valerie a receipt for the item.

Valerie nodded, and pulled out a bar. "Can I get this broken down so I have some spendable money?"

The piebald figure snorted, "Whadda we look like, the bank?"

Valerie thought about that for a moment and said, "A couple guys who get five percent each?"

The pair exchanged a long look, then the orc got up and rustled around, "Okay, lessee here..." He counted out more trade bars, gold this time, until he'd piled up eight of them. He then counted out eight platinum coins and twenty gold coins. He slid four platinum and ten gold off to the side, and held out his hand for the trade bar.

Valerie handed it over, piled all her new bars into her pack and dumped the coins into her pouch. The orc pocketed two platinum and five gold, while the other one collected the remainder. "Nice doin' business witcha." commented the orc, and the other being nodded his thanks as well.

"Yeah, thanks. See you." replied Valerie, leaving the pair to their game. As she left and started away, she heard the piebald one say "You looked, dincha, you cheatin' orc bastard?" She chuckled and left them to their affairs, returning to the gates of the compound. A guard noticed her and pulled a lever, as a low 'CLUNK' was heard.

He waved at her, and she pushed at the gate, swinging it open to exit onto the street. Around her people of all types milled along. The majority seemed to be human, from first glance, but she also saw mixed into them a good number of beings with fiendish traits or other strange nonhuman colorations, alongside other races such as the elves and dwarves.

The architectural style of the city was...haphazard, to say the least. It reminded Valerie of someone slapping together pieces of every type of building they could find like a madman's jigsaw puzzle. All manner of stone and wood construction ran up against one another with little rhyme or reason.

Most of the people seemed to eye her briefly and go about their business. A few were giving her unpleasant looks, others stared at the unexpected appearance of a troll. But no one cried out in alarm or tried to attack her. It had the very impersonal feel to it all she'd seen in large cities. Just another face in the crowd.

"Hoy, there!" called a high, girlish voice. Valerie looked around and down to spy a young human woman before her, looking up, hands on her hips. She gave a pleased grin when she had Valerie's attention. Something about her features was a little...off. The long shape of her nose, her large ears, the way her front teeth seemed too big.

Not really ugly, just strange, like they were exaggerated caricatures. Otherwise she was fairly pretty, with a lithe, fit shape, maybe five and a half feet, fair-skinned with short dark hair and alert green eyes. She wore a long-sleeved blouse and trousers with boots, while a rapier and dagger hung at her hips.

"First time in The Cage? No worries, cutter, I'm just the thing for ya! Regina's the name, an' y' ask anyone, ya won't find a finer tout this side o' town!" She gestured with a showman's flair, pointing and fencing the air dramatically with her finger.

Valerie took the sight of her in, then said "Uh, that's a guide, right?"

"Aye, so 'tis, cutter! Show us ya jink an' we'll be off where ya wantin' t' be!"

Her odd turns of phrase took a moment to process, but Valerie got the jist and fished out a gold coin. "Okay. I need to go register for citizenship, then go make an account at the Moneylender's Guild."

The girl's eyes locked onto the coin like a cat on a canary. "You got it!" She held up her hands for it, and clutched it, eyed it, bit it, then smiled again and made it vanish from sight. "Right this way!" she turned and was off into the crowd. Valerie started after her hesitantly, not wanting to push people around.

Her new guide had no such qualms. She slipped past when she could, and bowled through when she couldn't. "One side, one side, important folk comin' through, move over or be run over!" Some glared harshly at her, but when they saw Valerie following, they tended to get out of the way.

Once they had some inertia in the crowd, things got much easier. But as they moved, Valerie kept getting distracted by the wavering whine of portals. Besides the people, and the buildings, she saw they were everywhere. Doorways, windowsills, arches leading into side-streets.

Anything that could conceivably be called an entrance to something was a candidate. It wasn't every single one, but they were in abundance. "No wonder they call it the City of Doors." she muttered.

"Whassat, cutter?" called Regina. "City o' Doors? Aye, that's The Cage, alright! Us locals call it that, y'see, cos doors what you can't open, might as well be a cage ya's in. Right?"

Valerie grunted by way of reply, and Regina kept leading her along. She saw very little in the way of street signs around, and many of the haphazard lanes looked gloomy and unpleasant to travel. "Is it always so dim here?" she asked. She saw no sign of any sun, just a dull glow in the air through the constant haze of smoke.

Regina laughed, "Ah, you Primers! Always goin' on with that suns-and-moons chant! Think this is dim? This here's the bright part o' the day!"

"Oh. Lovely." replied Valerie with a heavy dollop of sarcasm.

It took them some time, but they arrived at a large stone building whose name read 'Hall of Records'. After entering, Valerie found her way to registration for citizenship, where after a short wait she was put through a series of questions, had to sign a few documents, and swore an oath to obey the law of the city and its appointed officers.

Once that was done, she chose a personal sigil to use. A simple claw-and-tooth image, like a capital V with a > overlaying it. Issued a seal, along with documents from the city as proof, she paid the fee of a hundred gold pieces and left to find Regina idling around nearby, finishing off what looked like a kebab of some kind.

Hunger made her stomach growl, and after being shown where the vendor who was selling them was at, purchased a few for herself. "Moneylender's?" she prompted her guide, starting in on the seasoned skewers of meat.

"Away we go!" replied Regina, and it wasn't long, just enough to finish her meal, before Valerie was led to the counting-house of the Moneylenders' Guild.

"Wait for me." she told her guide, who gave her a flamboyant salute and settled nearby. Inside she showed her documentation and handed over the wealth of trade bars to the officials, took care of her paperwork and was issued more documents, alongside a writbook, which reminded her more of a notepad than a checkbook. She hung onto her coins, and put away her papers securely.

When she left, she found Regina once more, and produced another gold coin for her. "I need to get to the Planar Cartographic Society."

The young woman nodded vigorously, "Just as ya say, cutter!" Again they were off through the winding maze of streets that was Sigil. While Valerie saw plenty of different beings about, she saw very few animal-drawn conveyances. Outside of some wagons hauling goods, most people seemed to get about in sedan chairs or rickshaws if they weren't on their own feet.

By now the gloom was starting to deepen into a hazy twilight, but they arrived at the purported offices of the group in question. Entering the premises, Valerie saw a great banner hanging there in the foyer, behind some kind of odd astrolabe device. It seemed to be depicting the general layout of the planes.

The center was the Prime Material Plane. Around it she saw the Astral Plane, Ethereal Plane and Plane of Shadow. Then came the Inner Planes: Earth, Air, Fire and Water, along with Positive and Negative Energy. Links between them were implied, Earth to Water, Water to Air, Air to Fire and Fire to Earth, with all four also linking to the Positive and Negative Planes.

Then all around them she saw the Outer Planes: Celestia, Bytopia, Elysium, Beastlands, Arborea, Ysgard, Limbo, Pandemonium, Abyss, Carceri, Hades, Gehenna, Baator, Acheron, Mechanus and Arcadia, with the Outlands lingering somewhere in the midst of them.

As she finished looking at all of them, she heard someone clear their throat. Turning, she saw a young human - or was he part elf? - man there wearing a loose grey robe. "Ah, can I help you?" he asked, putting on a pleasant expression, even if his eyes betrayed nervousness.

Valerie said, "I hope so. I come from a plane, or world, or something, called Earth. Not the Elemental one." She said it in English, "Earth." Back to the Common tongue she said, "I wanna find a way to get back there."

The young man frowned, "I've never heard of such a place. If we have record of it, it will be somewhere in our archives. You don't have any further information on its location?" Valerie shook her head.

The young man nodded, "Very well. Unfortunately, our head researcher has left for the day, and I fear he's the only one around immediately qualified for such a task. If you'd like to come back tomorrow, perhaps you can meet with him then?"

Valerie sighed, but said "Okay, fine. Tomorrow."

The young man clasped his hands together, "Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

Valerie shook her head, and he said "Have a good day, then." and left. She did likewise, frowning.

Regina said, "That was quick. All done?"

Valerie grumbled, "For now. No one's here today. Can you show me somewhere comfortable I can stay the night? Maybe has rooms and beds big enough for me?"

Regina smiled brightly, "Sure can, cutter! Fine kip, an' won't peel ya's, neither!"

As she followed along, Valerie asked, "Is this what you do every day?"

"Every one I can!"

"Do you have anyone you need to guide tomorrow?"

"Not yet. Ya need more help, I can be wherever first light!"

"Good. I'd like that."

"Me too, cutter! Me too!"

"Valerie. Call me Valerie."

"Right y'are, Miz Valerie!"

Valerie found the perky, easygoing acceptance of the girl a refreshing experience. She seemed eager to please, which made Valerie wonder if she was overpaying her. Well, there could be worse things done. She'd rather lose a little money than try and wander this place blind, and so far Regina had struck her as honest, at least as long as she was getting paid.

It wasn't long before they arrived at a fairly large building whose sign depicted two crowned figures seated facing each other, titled The Twin Kings Inn. "Thanks." said Valerie. "Be here in the morning?"

Regina gave her a graceful bow, "As ya wish, Miz Valerie!" With that, the young woman was off down the lane and around the corner.

Valerie had to duck to get through the door, though inside she was able to stand tall. The decor was quite nice, and the way the patrons gawped at her suggested they didn't expect to see her kind around. The innkeeper frowned at her until Valerie produced her coin and said, "I want a room with a bed big enough for me to sleep in."

The innkeeper coughed, "Well, the only type we have suitable for someone of your...stature is a suite. That'll be four gold a night, meals included."

"That include a hot bath?"

"Yes, that can be arranged, Master...?"

"Mistress. Valerie Bridgewater."

The innkeeper raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, merely collected the coins and directed a young woman to show her to her room. The young woman looked at Valerie fearfully, as if she was about to be gobbled up on sight.

Valerie couldn't resist. She quipped, "Don't worry, I'm sure the cooking tastes better than you do."

The girl nodded, eyes wide, and pointed, mouthing wordlessly as she went up the stairs.

Inside, the suite proved to be more like a one-room apartment, with private hearth, dining table, armoire and chest of drawers for clothing and a single huge canopy bed designed for multiple people to sleep on(or do other things on...)comfortably. It was lower to the floor than would have suited if it were properly her scale, but a quick test confirmed it would hold her weight. "I'd like a hot..."

Valerie looked around to realize she was talking to an open door. "...bath..." she sighed, and stripped off her equipment. At least it didn't stink of smoke and every unwashed person in the city in here. She lay back on the bed, and groaned pleasantly to stretch out and relax.

A knock at the door caused her to sit up and look to see an older woman there, arching brows in mild surprise, but not seeming afraid of her. "Waitin' on something, sir?"

"Well, I want a hot bath. And it's miss."

"As you say. Sorry to make you wait. Back in a nonce." the woman sketched a curtsey and closed the door.

Valerie lay back, almost starting to doze, before there was a fresh knock. "Come in."

It was the same woman, who informed her "Bath's ready, miss."

Valerie rose and followed her to another room, where a sunk-in tile bath, not quite as large as the Guardinals' but still big enough she could sit in it, awaited. Steam arose from the water, and she grinned. "Thank you."

"Do you need help washin', miss?"

Valerie shook her head, "I'm fine. Can you have dinner brought up when I'm done?"

"Of course, miss."

Valerie stripped out of her gear, and the woman prudently looked the other way. "Do you need your things cleaned, miss?"

"No, they're fine, thank you."

"As you say, enjoy miss."

Valerie climbed into the hot water and settled, sighing as the warmth crept into her body. She couldn't lay down fully, but she could slouch and stretch her legs while her shoulders and head remained out, or else raise her knees and submerge her head. She did both, luxuriating in the warmth, then setting about washing herself and her hair.

Paevo's little cleaning spell did the trick, but there was something much more relaxing and peaceful about this. Especially when she felt a thumping in her belly, her baby moving around again. She said softly, "That's right, mommy's having a nice hot bath for once."

That was still a scary thought, but she'd be lying if she said there wasn't some excitement to that idea, too. Mommy. Was it so wrong she wasn't a human mommy? With any luck, she'd find a way home before it became an issue, or at least while her baby was too young to remember not being human.

She lounged in the bath until the water grew tepid, then rose out, dried and dressed herself again. She had to look around a bit, but found her suite again, returning to find the dining table set with a sumptuous meal. Some sort of roasted bird with greens and gravy, roast potatoes, fresh bread and cheese, a bottle of wine and some sort of tarts to go with it.

She devoured it all with relish, even down to the bones of the fowl, then retired to her bed, rubbing her even fuller-than-usual stomach. "Worth every penny." she muttered to herself, soaking in the luxury of the stay. It wasn't long before she was out cold and resting soundly.

She rose the next morning to another welcome feast of some sort of fried bread akin to pancakes alongside eggs, sausages and fried ham. Well fortified, she geared up to face the day. Once downstairs she went ahead and paid for a second day's stay before leaving.

Outside it was still twilight, but there in the shadows, sure enough lurked Regina. She smiled to see Valerie and approached, "Was everythin' as ya hoped, Miz Valerie?" she asked, giving her another flamboyant bow.

"And more. Thank you, Regina." Valerie stretched once out in the street where she could raise her arms up properly, and said "To the cartographers' hall."

"Right y' are!" said Regina cheerily, and set out through the streets, Valerie in tow. The glow overhead from the lights of the city was like some bizarre field of stars, most unmoving but many in motion high above. She could hardly believe anyone could get used to this.

"How can you stand the smell of this place?" asked Valerie as they went along.

"Smell? This ain't so bad. Should see the Lower Ward, where all the forges an' tanners an' such is at! Or worse, The Hive an' what's below! This here's a flower-maiden's wares next to that!"

Valerie grunted, "Believe me, it smells worse than you think."

Regina gave a cheeky grin, "Beggin' yer pardon, Miz Valerie, but my nose ain't as dead's ya think!" She winked, tapped the side of it, then turned down another street. Valerie considered asking what she meant, but let it go and kept pace, until shortly they arrived at the Planar Cartographic Society again.

Valerie fished in her pouch, frowned, and pulled out a platinum coin. "Here, take this. That should cover you taking me wherever I want the next couple days."

Regina's eyes widened, and she took it with delight, "Oh, it does, it does!" Tucking it away she bowed again, "An' I swear, there'll be none t'speak ill o' trolls what don't hear o' how ya treated me, Miz Valerie!"

Valerie smiled at the gratitude shown, and bowed her head in reply, "It's much appreciated, Regina. I'll be back when I can."

"I'll be here!" came Regina's reply as Valerie ducked inside again.

Inside, Valerie was met by the same young man again, who said "This way, please." She was led through a cramped hallway past several rooms filled with books, scrolls, maps and glimpses of artifacts amidst the mess, back to a closed door which bore a small plaque: "G. GNEISSMINER, Master Sage of Planar Cartography".

The young man knocked politely at the door, and inside a voice called, "Go away!"

The young man coughed, "Master, I have an unusual request--"

"Oh, that's what you say about all of them, boy! I have important work to do, go...bother Cathrym!"

"Away to Candlekeep for archival."

"Bother Veenhelm, then!"

"Conducting an expedition in Svartalfheim."

"Blast! Turn them loose on that one boy, what's-his-name...Menzies!"

The young man coughed again, "...that's me, sir."

"Oh, Urdlen take me! How am I expected..." a chair scraped, "to get anything done..." and the door opened, "with all these interruptions?!?"

It took Valerie a moment(and a step back)to see the source of all this ranting. Wearing a long leather apron festooned with pockets over a stained-looking robe was a small man, no more than three feet tall, with balding blond hair. Or perhaps it had simply migrated down to the huge handlebar moustache on his face and elongated goatee under it.

Wearing some sort of multi-lensed goggles, he looked around, up to Valerie, and jerked back. "Garl's grin, how'd you get that titanic troll in here?!?"

The young man, Menzies, coughed and tapped the side of his head, "Sir? Your goggles..."

"My what?" The gnome reached up, patted at his face, "Oh. Yes." He slid them up, peered around myopically with his watery blue eyes, and removed a pair of spectacles from an apron pocket, put them on. "Gah, still uglier than the arse-end of a diarrhetic kobold. What does it want, boy?"

Valerie glowered down at the rude little fellow, "I want help finding my way back to my home plane. But I'll settle for squashing rude little creeps like you into a bloody paste."

That gave the gnome pause, before he jammed his fists into his sides and said, "Well, there's no need to be violent about it." He sighed heavily, "Very well, where is it you're trying to go?"

"Earth." Valerie said it in English.

The gnome peered at her, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Earth. Not the Elemental Plane. Not Oerth. Earth." repeated Valerie in the Common tongue.

"Earth. Earth." the gnome repeated, scratching at his combed-over pate. He turned and wandered back into the office, climbing up into the custom-made high chair that let one of his stature use the human-sized desk therein. He sat there for several moments, then snapped his fingers. "You, boy! Fetch _Roll of the Demiplanes_ , Volume U."

Valerie said, "It starts with an E."

The gnome gave her an annoyed glare, but he said, "And Volume E as well!"

The young man left, and the gnome peered at Valerie. "How does a troll speak nearly as well as you, anyhow?"

Valerie said, "I wasn't born a troll. I was born a human--"

"Not that much difference." muttered Gneissminer.

Valerie glared at him again, and continued, "--then I fell through some kind of portal. I guess it was the Plane of Shadow? It was a black void. Then I arrived in the Beastlands, changed."

The gnome sat there fiddling with one end of his moustache as she related that to him, seeming to draw into himself in thought. "Tell me more about your home plane. Was it similar to one of the Prime worlds?"

Valerie said, "I've only seen Oerth, but sort of, yeah. Day/night cycle, weather and seasons, sun and moon, though we only have the one moon."

"Any other things about it?"

"Well, there's no magic, at least none I ever saw. And the only intelligent race is humankind."

The boy Menzies returned carrying two heavy leatherbound tomes. Gneissminer began flipping through them, beginning with E. Valerie looked around for somewhere to sit, sighed and ended up half-leaning against the doorjamb.

After some time, Gneissminer sat it aside. "No. No record of any plane here called Earth."

Valerie groaned with frustration, "What's that mean? Could it be in some other book?"

Gneissminer motioned for Menzies to gather the books he'd brought and take them away. "Maybe so. But I have no time to delve into that, I have important work to finish!"

Valerie said, "What about money?"

Gneissminer peered at her, "What about it?"

"I could pay you to search for the answers I need."

"Yes, and I could go prostitute myself to lonely dwarven women on Siltslide Street! But I'm not likely to do that, either!"

It took Valerie a moment to keep herself from picturing such a horror. "Isn't there anything I can do to change your mind?"

The gnome scoffed, "Well, I suppose if you could help in my research somehow..."

"What would that take?"

He paused, considering that. "Well, I doubt...unless, perhaps...but even then..." He fixed her with a wary look, "Just how far are you willing to go for this?"

"Uh, depends how far I'd have to go."

"Oh, not terribly far. The Astral Plane. And then Hades."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm preparing a work for a symposium upon touchstones in a few months. Sadly, some of my research has been forced into being second-hand, given the danger involved in two of the sites in question. But if you were to assist me, secure those sites so I could conduct first-hand research and cut out the muddling mess of lesser minds to interpret..."

"So...go to these two places, take care of anything dangerous and keep you safe while you do your work?"

"Precisely."

"And after that, you'll do your best to find Earth for me?"

"It will be my number-one priority. Alongside finishing _The Philosopher's Stones: Factional Inquest Of Planar Essentia And Its Role In Ideological Warfare_ , of course. I am the keynote, you see." The gnome spread his hands dramatically as he delivered the title, and fussed at his apron with self-importance.

"Right." Valerie considered the situation. Unless there was someone else capable of researching it, this rude, self-absorbed gnome was her best option. Until a better one presented itself, she supposed she had little choice. "Okay, I'll do it. When can we get started?"

"Soon. I must make arrangements to travel to the sites in question. The first shouldn't present any problems. The second may take more time. I should be ready..." he fussed with his goatee, "day after tomorrow. Be here first light."

Valerie nodded, "I'll see you then."

"Yes, yes, fine. Now I have important work to get back to, so if you'll excuse me...?"

Valerie left the room, closing the door behind her. "One step at a time." she reminded herself. She found her way back out through the hall and into the street, to come upon a sight she hadn't expected. Regina was there, surrounded by four cloaked individuals, three behind and one in front. All had their hoods up and hands at their weapons.

Regina didn't look so much scared as frustrated, hands held stiffly at her sides. The one in front of her was rolling a platinum coin back and forth over his knuckles. Valerie had a strong suspicion it was the one she'd given the girl earlier today. The figure was grinning with a filthy, uneven set of teeth in his mouth as he spoke.

"Fink yer better'n us cuz some leather'ead's too barmy t' know yez bein' paid a hunn'ert times more'n a lil squeak like yez is worth?"

Regina saw Valerie, "I ain't the one ya should be talkin' to, Niall. She's right over there."

The man turned, and stopped to see Valerie. "Wot, greenjobs 'ere?"

Valerie strode over, "Yeah, me. And I didn't pay you that coin. So unless you wanna find out how these feel in your gut..." she brandished her claws, "give it back to Regina."

The man sneered defiantly, glaring up at her. His features reminded her of a much uglier version of Regina. Overlarge front teeth, long nose, big ears. He touched briefly at the hilt of a sword that looked much too nice to be in the hands of someone as shabby-looking as him, but then gave a snarl and sent the coin flipping in the air.

"This ain't over." he promised Regina, and skulked away, the other three following after. Valerie caught the coin, handed it back to Regina.

"Friends of yours?" she asked the girl.

Regina tossed her head and turned her nose up, "I'd rather get boiled alive than call bubber-peeling trash like Niall Filthgrin a friend." She folded her arms and looked away, "He's from the ole neighborhood, that's all."

Valerie nodded, "Some place you don't want to be anymore?"

Regina sighed, "It's...complicated."

Valerie grinned, "Life usually is."

Regina gave a thin smile, and asked, "How'd it all go today?"

Valerie shrugged, "It'll take some work. I need to be back here day after tomorrow to go on an expedition."

"Where ya off to, if it ain't too much t'ask?"

"The Astral Plane."

"Oh, that's Yanki-land, that is! Know that chant, do ya?"

"Yankee?"

"Githyanki. Tall, yellow, fancy hair 'n armor?"

"Oh, yeah. And their plain-dressing cousins."

"The Zerees. Don't get 'em mixed, 'less ya favor a bash-up."

"So I've heard. Okay...I need to go back to the Brotherhood's hall."

"Right y'are!" Regina took a moment to gather herself, then brightened up and was off with her usual good cheer once more. When they arrived, Valerie left her to go back to the quartermaster's, where the same pair were there idling about. Valerie produced her receipt for the axe she'd dropped off.

The orc grunted, shuffled through a few documents, and handed one over. "Come back to nine hundred seventy, after appraisal and a lien of dues owed."

Valerie nodded, "A writ for the Moneylenders', please." The orc fixed it and handed it over after Valerie signed and sealed her document.

Leaving, she had Regina take her to the bank to make her deposit, and after asked "Where can I go to purchase some magical equipment?"

"What sorta things you after?"

"Uh, a weapon, I guess? Or maybe it's jewelry."

Regina thought about it, "Guess we can try Grimblade's Armory."

"Lead the way."

The pair set off, and before long the air grew heavier with the stink of industry, not only of forges doing metal and glasswork but leathermaking, dyemaking and treatment of all manner of cloth. So too with smells arising from portals that, from the glimpses Valerie took, didn't go to very pleasant places. "Where the Hell are we?" she asked her guide.

Regina said, "The Lower Ward. We ain't far off from The Hive. That's the bad part o' town."

"I can't imagine how it's worse."

"Be glad ya can't." Soon she led Valerie to a fairly large establishment whose sign bore crossed axes and a shield, reading 'GRIMBLADE'S ARMORY'. Inside, Valerie found displays of all manner of weapons and armor hung about. Behind a counter, a hobgoblin was working at polishing a series of daggers. "Help you?"

Valerie approached, "I'm looking for a magic weapon. At least, I think it's a weapon. It's an enchanted necklace, works on your natural weapons?"

He nodded, "Lemme get the owner." While he disappeared into the back area, Valerie looked at an assortment of crossbows on sale, including some sort of lever-actuated repeating model that made her smile as she imagined automatic weapons fire in her mind.

A woman's voice, somewhat hoarse, said "Well met. You're looking for an Amulet of Natural Attacks?"

Valerie turned to spy a female orc there, though she was much taller than most of the males she'd seen. Six and a half feet, with a quite muscular build, dark hair in braids shot with grey and white, a hard-lined face that she supposed might be pretty by orc standards, wearing a leather apron over a tunic and trousers.

"Hello, yes. That's what it's called. And I was told to get one with another enchantment on it. Alteration? I think?"

"Do you mean Adaptation?"

Valerie nodded, "That's it, yes."

The woman said, "I'll look, but I'm sure we don't have one. We have one with a very basic enchantment, if that will do."

Valerie frowned, "No, I was told the Adapting one was important."

"They're very useful if you fight a wide number of different foes, especially outsiders and their ilk." She went to a heavy book and studied it. "No, I do have one. But its primary enchantment is stronger than normal. It'd be fifty thousand, six hundred gold pieces."

Valerie winced, "Far too much for me."

The woman said, "I can get one like you want, but it'll take me about three days."

Again Valerie frowned, "Sorry, I need it within the next day or so."

The orc nodded, "Well, I wish I could do more for you. I'm sorry."

Valerie rubbed at her hair, "Any idea where I might get one?"

The orc looked at her for several moments, then said "If it was me, I'd try the Mercanes. They're usually good about finding what you need."

Valerie brightened, "Thank you."

The woman nodded, "You're welcome. If I can help you with some other kind of arms and armor sometime, I hope you'll bring me your business first."

Valerie said, "I will. You're Grimblade?"

"Greeshna Grimblade, aye."

Valerie held her hand out, "Valerie Bridgewater."

The orc clasped it, "Well met." She looked Valerie right in the eye, unafraid. Valerie had a feeling this woman had handled her share of weapons on the battlefield as well as off it.

Valerie nodded, "Likewise. Thanks for your time. Take care."

The orc gave a last nod before returning into the back, while Valerie left to find Regina. "Didn't have what I was looking for."

Regina said, "I'm sorry, Miz Valerie."

Valerie smiled, "It's not your fault. The owner was nice about it, told me to try the Mercanes, whoever they are."

Regina nodded, "Aye, we'll have t'go ta the Bazaar, but we'll try 'em if it's what ya want!"

Valerie rubbed at her stomach, regarding the midday 'glow' of the city. "I think what I really want now is lunch."

"Right y'are! Back t' the inn?"

Valerie nodded, and the pair were off again. All the back-and-forth had Valerie starting to get acclimated to the shape and structure of the city. She still didn't care for the smell, but she had to agree. Once they were free of the Lower Ward, the air was noticeably better.

Returning to the inn, she left Regina to her own affairs while she had her lunch. It was nice, lounging around in her suite with peace and quiet, able to stuff herself full of tasty food in private. Once she was done she went back out to find Regina idling around, flicking her dagger about between her hands.

"Ready to take me to the Bazaar?" Valerie asked.

Regina smiled brightly and tucked the dagger away, "Whenever you is, Miz Valerie!" she bowed, and was off through the streets.

It wasn't long before Valerie could hear a growing roar of people, a stronger mix of smells on the breeze. Like an approaching wave to the shore, it swelled until finally they drew close enough to see it. A bay of people whirling around islands of color, strung about in chains and mazes. Thousands of voices, scents and sights washing over her.

The Grand Bazaar of Sigil.

Valerie stood there straining to process it all, and Regina grinned to see the troll struck by the sight. "C'mon, let's find a Mercane. They're easy t' spot. Look for giant blue people."

Joining the milling throng, Valerie slowly navigated the avenues between the stalls, where vendors hawked their wares to all who passed by. Each tried to outshout the other, with competing neighbors practically making street theater from their insults of one another in grabs for attention.

It took a few twists and turns, but soon Valerie saw a likely candidate. It didn't look like a frost giant, the only giant blue people Valerie had ever seen, so her guess was this was a Mercane. Garbed in fine dark robes, the gaunt, sharp-featured being was around twelve feet tall, had catlike eyes, long pointed elf-like ears and hands which seemed larger than they should have been. The reason was soon apparent, for Valerie saw they had an extra joint in their fingers.

Standing close to it were a group of rough-looking armed beings, who locked their eyes on Valerie when she began to approach, moving to intercept. Valerie held her hands up and said, "I'm looking to buy a specific magical item." The tall being turned to regard her, and smiled. Clasping its hands together, it spoke in a surprisingly soft voice.

"Ah, an Ironskin troll. It's been a while since I saw one of your kind. I trust the item you're after is of a martial bent?"

Valerie nodded after a moment's consideration, "Yeah, it's an Amulet of Natural Attacks, with an Adaptation enchantment on it."

"Hmm, an excellent choice. How strong of a primary enchantment were you hoping for?"

"Uh, not very strong. I was told one suitable for me would be between eighteen and nineteen thousand gold?"

"Yes, the minimum levels of enchantment, with the Adaptation enhancement, would be eighteen thousand, six hundred gold. How soon do you need the item?"

"Sometime tomorrow?"

"That can be arranged. Will midday suffice?"

"Yeah. Uh, you take a writ?"

"We prefer trade goods, but a writ will do, if you agree to wait on proof of its veracity."

"Do what?"

The Mercane chuckled, a surprisingly girlish sound. "Unfamiliar customers such as yourself have no credit of trust. We must make sure you deal honestly with us."

"Okay, you wanna be sure you're getting paid before you hand it over. Yeah, I'm fine with that."

"Then I look forward to conducting our trade. Are there any other items you seek in the meantime?"

"No, that's all."

"Very well. Good day to you."

"You too." Valerie turned and left, looking at Regina. "Okay. Well...let's look around in here for a while. It's been forever since I saw any kind of shopping market."

Valerie whiled away a couple of hours just milling about, looking at all the things for sale and trade. Some were obviously poor deals, charms and potions the merchants made all manner of claims about. It put her in mind of that stupid 'ionic bracelet' her Aunt Marie had bought years ago she claimed was so good for her cos she saw it on TV...

All manner of vendors sold food, too. From typical market fare to cheap prepared snacks, tending to be served on wooden skewers or wrapped in a bit of some kind of bread. She saw too nearby children darting out from between stalls, snatching the discarded sticks up, finishing off whatever bits of food clung to them, and taking them off to be collected. She had a disturbing feeling those sticks were going to get some kind of washing before being resold to the vendors.

Passing by another locale she saw a well-dressed, heavyset man surrounded by beautiful females in skimpy outfits, lounging on pillows and mats, his wares of choice. All wore chained collars around their necks, and had a certain dull, distant look in their eyes when not trying to attract attention to his goods.

"Are they slaves??" asked Valerie of Regina.

Regina nodded, "Likely so."

"That's legal here?!?"

"T' own, yes. Not t' trade, though ya hear stories."

"What a repulsive law!"

Regina shrugged, "Law never was much part o' where I lived. High-ups cared more we stayed where we was, an' let us do t' each other what we willed."

Valerie supposed that wasn't too different from the way a lot of inner-city ghettoes were back home. "Still doesn't make it right."

The pair wandered on until the afternoon light dimmed into the twilight gloom that the city seemed to be in at least half the time, at which point Valerie had Regina take her back to the inn. "See you again tomorrow?" she asked the girl.

"Count on it, Miz Valerie!" promised Regina.

Valerie retired to her suite, enjoyed another hot bath for the novelty of it, then stuffed herself with another fine meal. She thought of the children she'd seen at the bazaar, foraging people's castoff street food and looking uniformly filthy and ragged. A pang of guilt ate at her, but then her stomach thumped. She rubbed at it, "That won't be your life. I promise."

The next day she rose, breakfasted and left to find Regina waiting. "We've got some time to kill. What do people do here for entertainment?"

Regina said, "Besides drinkin', gamblin' an' all that? Wanderin' bards is always popular. But there's the Civic Festhall. They puts on shows an' such like. I hear they has wild parties, too. An' there's the Circus Tempus. They host fights an' other things in the arena."

That didn't sound like any circus Valerie ever heard of, but that was home, far away. "Either of them do anything during the day?"

Regina shook her head, "Nah, that's all evenin' trade."

Valerie frowned, "Anywhere else?"

Regina said, "Bath houses is always popular, but they got a bath at your kip, right?"

"Yeah. No kind of parks, or anything?"

Regina laughed, "Only thing grows here's razorvine." She pointed out the dark green, thorny creepers on the side of a nearby building.

Valerie rubbed at her hair, "I guess we'll just wander around and look at shops, then."

Regina began leading them around, and Valerie saw that innovations back home like the 'under one roof' style of sales had yet to come to this place. While some might keep a certain category, such as alchemical items, no one tried to be a one-stop sort of place to cover all needs.

They skirted the edges of a part of the city called The Lady's Ward, where the wealthy elite lived, but there were guards watching and they gave Regina some very unpleasant looks. Valerie got more mixed reactions, but the attitude was clear: you are not welcome here.

She'd heard stories back home about wealthy neighborhoods, private estates, gated communities. This was much the same, but the difference was much more stark to her eye. Or perhaps she just wasn't used to it. Regina treated it with practiced indifference. "That's high-ups for ya." she said summarily.

The day had brightened, so they returned to the Bazaar, navigating the maze of vendors and patrons to find the Mercane there awaiting them. Valerie approached, and produced her writbook. "Who do I make it out to?" she asked.

A man nearby stepped up, "To me, Bercann." Valerie did as instructed, handed it off. He tucked it away into a large wallet, then prodded at the ground nearby, kicking a broom up into his hand. Valerie grinned to see him mount it and simply fly away above the crowd, soon out of sight.

A short time later he returned, and gave a meaningful nod to the Mercane, who gestured with one hand as a small locked chest appeared in midair before him. It opened it up, and removed a necklace, strung with bones, teeth and claws like the one Comar had. "As promised." the towering blue being offered it to Valerie.

Taking it in hand, Valerie nodded, "Thanks." before she placed it on around her neck. When she did, she felt just a brief tingle through her body, what she presumed was the presence of its magic upon her. It passed, and after she stood there expectantly for several moments, she drug her hair out from under it.

"Use it in good health." bade the Mercane.

Their trade completed, Valerie left its company and told Regina, "Let's go have lunch."

Returning to the inn, Valerie kept fingering the unfamiliar bit of jewelry around her neck. It would take time to grow used to its presence. She'd never worn a lot back home, just earrings. Instead of leaving Regina outside, she said "Come in and join me."

Regina pointed at herself in shock, "Me?? But I-I couldn't!"

"Why not? You're my guest. If it's about money, I'll settle it with them."

Regina hesitated, but then nodded, "Okay..."

She followed Valerie inside, looking around with curiosity, but also nervousness, like she was afraid she'd be bounced out any second. A few sets of eyes peered at the two of them, but no voices spoke up.

The older serving woman who'd been attending Valerie saw them together, and asked "Anything special for your lunch guest, miss?"

Valerie shook her head, escorting Regina to her suite, where the girl stared around. "This ain't a room, it's a house!"

Valerie laughed, "It's meant to be shared by several people. I think they're getting a deal with just me in it."

Regina touched the bed hesitantly, like she was afraid someone would scold her if they saw her. Valerie said, "Go on, get on it." Regina climbed up, and laughed with her own delight to feel it under her.

"It's like...sleepin' on air, it is!"

Valerie said, "It's nice, that's for sure."

A knock sounded, and the server arrived with others in tow to deliver the platters of food that was luncheon. Regina stared anew to see such a feast laid out, and she tilted her head up, almost seeming to scent the air.

That reminded Valerie of something, she couldn't quite say what. But she didn't question as she motioned for Regina to join her, and the two feasted heartily on the meal. Regina made sure to try everything offered there, making delighted sounds at every dish. Valerie held back on stuffing herself to be sure Regina got all she wanted.

When the girl was almost looking green from her indulgence, Valerie set to polishing off the remainder. Seeing Regina sprawl on the bed, groan and rub at her midsection with a mixture between pain and pleasure made Valerie smile.

"I can...die happy now...which might not be long...Gods, why'd I stuff m'self so?" said Regina.

Valerie chuckled, "I dunno. I hope there'll be room in you again come dinnertime."

Regina made a face, "Please, Miz Valerie...no more food talk now?"

"Alright, Regina." She took a seat on the bed as well, laying back across the foot of it. After reclining there for a few minutes she said, "I'd like to ask you something. Are you...entirely human?"

Regina lay there quietly for half a minute, then said "More like...human and then some more." She rolled onto her side and said, "I wondered if ya knew."

Valerie turned to face her, "Not really, but it's little things that made me wonder. What are you?"

Regina took a breath, then said "I'm a lycanthrope. A were-rat." She quickly raised a hand, "Don' worry, I ain't contagious! I was born this way, same's my Ma an' Da was."

Valerie knew things such as that were possible from talk she'd heard, but this was the first time she'd ever met someone like this. And it all made sense. The way her teeth and nose and ears were shaped, all very rodentine. "So, you can turn into a giant rat?"

Regina nodded, "Or a rat-person."

Valerie asked, "Do you change by the light of the moon?"

Regina shrugged, "Never seen a moon. But tha's what Ma an' Da tole me, sure."

Valerie thought then of the Beastlands, and the area of constant night. Would werecreatures be stuck shapeshifted there, she wondered? Always under the full moon? "Is silver the only thing that can kill you?"

Regina laughed, "I wish. Tha's just ole peasant tales. We can die same's anyone else. But weapons what ain't silver has a harder time hurtin' us."

Valerie nodded, "So those thugs the other day. Were they...like you?"

Regina nodded, frowning. "Niall took over my Da's gang years ago when my Da died. Still say it was him what killed my Da, but no one can prove it, 'cept he has my Da's sword. He keeps comin' after me, part t'scare me so I don't challenge him, part cos he thinks if he can get me to marry him..." she stopped, frowning at the idea.

Valerie scowled, "Disgusting. You ever think about doing it? Challenging him?"

Regina nodded, "Yeah, but...there's no way he'd fight fair. Plus...then they'd want me t'lead 'em. An' tha's not what I really want." She sighed heavily, rolling onto her back. "I dunno. Sometimes I think I'd be better off if I left. But I don' wanna leave my Ma an' kin behind. Toutin's not the best job - 'cept when I get someone generous like you - but it's better'n ever'thin else I'd do."

Valerie lay there for a time, and said "I guess the only other thing I need is to be shown back to the Cartographic Society in the morning."

Regina said, "I hope I can move again by then." and gave that cheeky smile of hers again. Now that she knew, Valerie could very much see the rodent in such an expression. It wasn't ugly, but it was a little different.

Valerie gave a snort of laughter, and said "So tell me about your family."

"What d'you wanna know?"

"Anything. Who they are, what they do."

"Okay." Regina lay there, naming her relations. Besides her mother, she had aunts and uncles on both sides along with a slew of cousins at varying ages. Some were tradespeople, like her mother, others varying degrees of criminal, ranging from petty theft and confidence scams to low-level enforcement in a gang or other organization.

She painted a picture of life in The Hive, nasty and often brutal, where those who had nothing better collected. Some had been wealthy and respected once, until bad decisions or just bad luck landed them down in the gutter with the rest of the have-nots. It was a picture like those from home, of people born into bad situations that never escape them.

The day wound on into the growing gloom of twilight, and soon it was dinnertime. Valerie rose to go and bathe once more. She invited Regina to join, but the young were-rat declined. "Should really be goin' on, Miz Valerie." But it didn't take much to convince her to hang on a little for another meal.

The two shared a fine dinner, Regina eating less this time, but taking some extra at Valerie's insistence to share with her mother and family that lived with them. When it was done, Valerie escorted her down and out, "See you tomorrow."

"Count on it! G'night, Miz Valerie!"

Returning to her room, Valerie lay there pondering Regina's life, and what might lie ahead for her. If she could find some way to help her out that wouldn't seem so much like charity, she'd do it. Her thoughts turned then to her own affairs, and what was in store for her on this excursion. Besides dealing with a prickly little gnome. Eventually she tucked in to have her rest.

She arose the next morning to another filling breakfast, gathered her equipment and made to leave. She was mildly annoyed to be paying five more gold and not getting another meal out of it, but the extra charge for Regina had been worth treating her guide like that.

Speaking of, she was there waiting when Valerie left, with her bright smile and flourishing bow of greeting. Valerie smiled in return, "Not still waddling about, I see."

Regina shook her head, "My kin was right pleased wif what I brung home, Miz Valerie. Like a holiday feast!"

Valerie was pleased to hear that, "I'm glad they enjoyed it." She then asked, "So is there some way I can get in touch with you, in case I need your help again?"

Regina thought about that, "Can ya leave a message wit' the guards an' such where the Brotherhood's at? I'll check every day, I swear! Make it to Regina Blacktail, aye?"

Valerie nodded, "I will." She took a deep breath, "To the cartographer's, then."

"Right y'are!" returned Regina, and they were off through the streets, soon arriving at the Society hall.

"I guess this is it for now." said Valerie.

Regina nodded, and said, "Stay safe, Miz Valerie!"

"You too, Regina." she gave the girl a gentle pat on the arm, and went inside.

There waiting was the young man, Menzies, seated atop a sturdy-looking trunk, one of three. He stood and sketched a bow, "Good morning."

Before Valerie could reply, Gneissminer called from further inside the building, "Boy! Has that blasted troll finally arrived?"

Menzies gave Valerie a helpless shrug and smile, called back "Just now, Master!"

"Well, it's about time! They're expecting us in Tu'narath, and while Gith may be ageless as all mortals on the Astral, their patience is not eternal, by Garl!" His voice got progressively louder and louder as he drew near during that proclamation. He stopped to peer up at Valerie through his spectacles, and fussed with his goatee.

"Good day." said Valerie with polite effort.

Gneissminer pointed, "Get those trunks up and move along, perhaps we might reach that assertion!"

Valerie frowned at being given the job of porter without her assent, but it was for sure the gnome wasn't going to move them. So she sighed, stacked two on top of each other, and got them under her arm. She grabbed the other up by a handle on the side, and Gneissminer said, "Careful, you brute! That's delicate equipment inside!"

Valerie sighed, and bent down, more carefully elevating it and sliding it up onto her arm and shoulder with a minimum of rattle and clatter from inside.

Gneissminer grumbled, "Knew I should have hired proper porters..." he shook his head with the air of one put upon by the weight of the world. "Very well! We're off, boy. Keep my messages organized while I'm away. Come along, troll!"

He was out the door and not even considering to keep it open for her. Menzies showed more thought, and as Valerie ducked out, he muttered "Better you than me." but softened it with a wink.

Valerie just rolled her eyes and looked around. Fortunately the street wasn't crowded, so she caught up quickly enough with Gneissminer, who moved along as if absolutely sure she wouldn't dare lose pace with him. Where people gathered in greater numbers, he ducked and weaved through the crowd with experience borne of years living underfoot from larger races. Valerie had to all but walk over folk.

At least the gnome could only go so fast on his short legs, which made it easy to keep up. It took some time, but they arrived at a square where a number of Githyanki were present, armed and armored, keeping careful watch over people approaching a nearby portal.

As they queued up to pass through, Valerie saw it led to some sort of grey, misty expanse. Gneissminer produced a document with the seal of the Cartographic Society on it, gestured to her and spoke in what she assumed was the Gith language. The guards allowed them to pass, and there was that diving-in sensation and blackness.

On the other side, she saw all around her a silvery void, but there in it, floating, was a city that appeared to have been built atop the remains of what she guessed was some kind of giant statue. It was broken, though anchoring chains had been linked between to keep them from floating too far apart.

"Well, don't stand there gawping all day! Move!" came Gneissminer's voice, from...above? She looked, to see him floating there in the air, several feet over her head, glaring at her.

Valerie moved away from the portal, but said "How are you doing that?"

His incredulous look turned to one of annoyed condescension, "You don't know anything about the Astral Plane, do you?" His voice conveyed twice the scorn of his eyes.

She glared, "I know if you keep talking to me like I'm a fucking mule you're in for a world of pain!" she said, releasing her pent-up frustration at his behavior.

He laughed and just...flew around in the air, a smug look on his face. "And however would you catch me, hmm?"

Valerie fumed, then let go of the trunks. They just floated there in the air. She looked at one...then got an evil smile on her face. "Well, for starters, I figure I'll rip open one of these trunks and demolish everything I can get my hands on..."

His look of shock and fear couldn't have been worse if she'd just threatened to peel the skin off his children before him. "You wouldn't dare! That's priceless equipment in there--" he flew down, grabbing the handle of one, then gave a squawk when Valerie's hand shot out and grabbed him, yanking him close. He squirmed, but to no avail as she brought him nose-to-nose with her.

"Now you listen, and you listen good. I am here to do the job I was hired to do: protect you. I am not your slave, I am not a pack animal, and I am damn sure not going to be talked to without the same amount of respect you'd expect someone to show you! I may not know much about the planes, but I know how to survive things that would've slaughtered you like a helpless kitten and left you to rot in the sun! And unless you wanna end up on my bad side, I expect you're going to tell me what I need to know about getting around here! You got that?"

Gneissminer nodded, eyes wide and fearful. She released him and he floated back, brushing at his apron and robes, fussing over his moustache. She just fixed him with an expectant look, and he finally cleared his throat to find his voice. "Very well. The Astral Plane is easily navigable by any self-aware being by exercising one's will in relation to the subject of gravity. If you wish to float, or to be attracted towards a given object, you have but to want it to be."

Valerie looked down at the ground. "That's impossible. The world doesn't work like that."

"Correction: Most Prime worlds and many other planes don't work like that. The Astral Plane does. Try this. Close your eyes and imagine yourself, floating. You've felt that before, floating in a body of water? Try to remember how that felt."

Valerie sighed, "Okay." She closed her eyes, still thinking it was stupid and wasn't going to work. She tried to remember the feeling of buoyancy in water, floating along. And moments later, the memory was real.

"Now look."

She did, and saw she was indeed floating in the air, now a foot or so off the ground! When she looked down, thought she shouldn't be doing so, she felt gravity take hold of her again and she was solidly on the ground once more.

"No, no, you can't let yourself fall into that trap! Keep focus on staying afloat, otherwise you'll fall, and I expect even a troll like yourself won't enjoy the end of that against part of the remains of Susurrus."

Valerie nodded, focused on that sensation again, and found herself lifting off. "Now what?"

"Either focus on remaining still, or focus on moving somewhere."

Valerie tried that, looking upwards. And just like that, she started to fly up. She gasped, then laughed with the sensation as she started soaring into the astral sky. She tried to alter her course, and after a few gross, jerky motions, found herself moving around as easily as she wanted.

Like most people, she'd dreamed of being able to fly like this. And now, it was real, it was happening. She looked down at the city spread below in wonder, and soared about further, trying to go as fast as she could. She found the faster she went, the harder it was to turn, but the exhilaration of speed was beyond compare for her.

With everything she'd been through since coming here, few things had been worth the rest to experience. This was one of them. But she didn't have much time to exult, for Gneissminer rushed up and said, "Very good, you can fly. Now I don't mean to be rude, but we really need to get to our ship."

"Ship? Why do we need a ship?"

"Because I don't fancy sleeping out there in the void without protection around me. Never know when a psychic storm or astral denizen might come along after you." He flew back down to where they'd arrived, Valerie following.

"And how do the ships fly?"

"They enchant the sails to catch certain ethereal currents in the motion of the Astral Sea, the same as ocean-going ships use the wind."

That made enough sense for her, and when they arrived, she took up the trunks again. "Do these just weigh nothing here?"

"No. Objects unattended by a willed being float where they're left. But their bulk is still very real. Hence no one can push a ship, for example, by flying. Now come on!"

He led the way, moving faster than she could, around the border of the city, until they came to an area that was a dock of some sort. There ships, or at least they looked shiplike, floated. With fanciful designs that no oceangoing vessel would use, most still held at least some resemblance to an actual watercraft.

One did not. It resembled, to Valerie's eye, a huge spider, complete with limbs arched off the 'body' and around it. "What's that? Why doesn't it have sails?"

Gneissminer said, "That's a spelljamming ship. They fly by means of an enchanted helm. They can even go into the void between worlds, beyond the skies to the sea of stars."

Valerie took a moment to process, and asked "So it's a space-ship??"

"That's another way to put it." He flew down, towards a smaller vessel, a sloop only around twenty feet long, tied to a walkway extending off a portion of the city-statue. Standing there nearby was one of the Gith. Over six feet tall, he was wearing a long overcoat with chainmail under it, an ornamented sword at his hip.

The side of his head was shaved, with a mohawk-like top grown down over the side in a series of braids, sporting jewels and silver bands. When he turned to look, she saw the other side of his head bore bad burn scars, the ear on that side a melted ruin, but most strikingly, instead of an eye, she saw what looked like a red gem in that side's socket

He gave a sharp-toothed sneer, but called to Gneissminer as he approached, "You the Society charter?"

"I am. You're Captain Burnteye?" replied the gnome.

The Gith spat, "I ain't Captain Handsome, by the Queen, so I guess that makes me Burnteye." He pointed a clawed fingertip Valerie's way, "Porter or passenger?"

Valerie said, "Passenger. I'm his protection."

The Gith pointed to the ship, "Get your cargo stowed and we'll be underway." He stepped up on the ship, started raising the sails. Valerie brought it aboard, found a small hold to stick the trunks down inside and did so. Gneissminer waited on the dock while they made ready.

Once the sails were set and the lines were cast, he came aboard. "Here are the coordinates as best as I can give them, Captain." He handed a rolled bit of parchment over. The Gith looked at them, grunted, and stuck them down in his pocket. He turned the tiller while the sails fluttered, the vessel starting to drift away from the dock.

As it did, Valerie saw there nearby a device like some sort of astrolabe, around a flat central platter with rings upon it. Upon the surface, small marks moved and gave readings she couldn't identify. "What's this?"

The Gith looked at her with raised brows, "Awful talkative for a troll, aincha?"

Valerie smirked, "Oh, yes. I forget, everyone thinks all we say is 'Me hungry!' and 'Me eat you!'." She did her best to sound dopey and mean in her mimicry.

That got a snort of laughter from the captain, and he said "It's an Astral compass. Shows where we are, based on the energies give off by Susurrus."

"That's what the statue is called?"

"God-corpse. And yeah."

Valerie stared back at the gigantic fractured form, "That's a dead god?!?"

"Dead's they get, aye. Some say they're just sleepin'. I say ten thousand years is a powerful long nap."

Valerie just shook her head as the city started to vanish from sight once they were several hundred feet away. Before long, all around them was one great silvery void. The Gith settled down by the tiller, and Gneissminer sat on the side once he'd removed a pillow from his backpack. Valerie got as comfortable as she could on the deck.

After a time she asked, "So how long is it supposed to take, getting there?"

Captain Burnteye scratched at his chin, "Mmm, 'bout three days, as Primers reckon it."

Gneissminer pulled out a book from a pocket in his robe, gave Valerie a smug little smile as he waved it briefly, and settled down to read.

Valerie sat there for a time, looking out at the silver expanse. She had no real sense of speed, as they couldn't see anything beyond a few hundred feet. Finally an object, some bit of rock, appeared, and near as she could tell, they were going a little faster than she could jog.

She stood up then, and turned to step off the side of the ship, into the void. She floated there, then started flying after. She could just about match speed with the vessel, so with a little effort she caught up alongside, and started flying around it, practicing maneuvering.

After an hour or so, she returned to rest, feeling odd, like she'd been swimming for a while. And some time later, got off to fly once again. It was still exhilarating, but not as it was when she'd first taken off. When she returned again, she noticed she wasn't feeling hungry.

"Hey, why don't I feel hungry?" she asked.

The Captain looked at Gneissminer, who remained focused on his book. He then said, "The Astral's a place where hunger an' thirst don't exist, same's aging. That all starts again when you leave."

Valerie considered that. "So you could come here and stay and not worry about dying of old age?"

The Gith nodded, and Valerie simply said "Huh." She really started to wish she had a book or something.

Hours passed, and Gneissminer finally paused his reading to stand, stretch and walk about. The Captain said, "We'll need to take watches in order to stay on course. 'Tis fairly simple." He reached down under where the compass was housed, removed an hourglass. "Four turns of this. Then your watch is done. I take the second watch."

Gneissminer immediately said, "Third watch."

Valerie sighed, "Guess I have first."

The Captain had her take the tiller and use it to guide the ship. "Aye, now keep us on this headin' here." he tapped a particular point on the wheel. "Anythin' big comes after us, sing out."

Valerie nodded, and took his position there by the back of the ship. The Captain opened the hold, fetched out a pack that held a bundle of his own for sleeping. He made a space for himself near the front, while Gneissminer unpacked his own bedroll and settled in near the rear. Soon both were asleep, and Valerie was left there to watch the passing nothing, alongside the trickling sands.

One turn. Two turns. By turn three she was getting sleepy. By turn four, she'd started poking herself in the leg to stay awake. But she rose, went to shake the Captain. He was awake and alert in an instant, hand to his weapon. "Your watch." she said sleepily. He nodded, "Aye." and rose, stretching, yawning, then moving to the helm.

She lay down, and despite the stark difference between the deck of the ship and the luxurious bed she'd had the night before, she was out cold in short order. When she awoke, it was to the Captain prodding her leg with his foot. She was up and moving, grimacing with a stretch, looking around.

"Oh look, more endless silver void." she groused. The Captain merely returned to the helm while Gneissminer sat there on his pillow, reading his book. She took a quick hop over the side to fly around while she stretched, then keep apace with the ship for a while until she got bored and sat once more.

Things continued much like that throughout the day, though they did pass by a strange swirling vortex, whose center was an oval pool of emerald green. "What's that?" Valerie asked.

The Captain said, "A color pool. Portal to one of the other planes. Beastlands, looks like."

Valerie thought then of the months she'd spent wandering that particular plane, the daily struggle for survival and against the isolation she'd endured. Once they were past and away, she resumed her pattern of fly for a while, sit for a while. Eventually, the time came to take her watch again. She did as was needed, to no real concern but boredom, and took her rest.

The next continued on much the same as the previous. By now Valerie felt fairly proficient in getting airborne and flying about in the astral void, twisting and turning around nimbly as she willed herself to move. Save for bits of drifting rubble or the occasional passing color pool, the trip continued to just be watching the endless expanse.

Valerie wasn't sure how much more she could take, as their third day in the Astral ended and the fourth began. But after they'd been up and going for a few hours, at last, ahead, a large shape loomed. Like the grand god-statue of the city of Tu'narath, only much reduced in definition. It was more like a torso that was missing extremities.

They passed by all around it, looking for ways inside. One area appeared to have been hollowed out and was designed to be used as a mooring spot. Valerie asked, "What is this place?"

"A research outpost, once used by the Faction known as the Athar." replied Gneissminer.

"So why'd they abandon it?"

The Captain suddenly hissed, "Silence!" as he flattened himself against the deck.

From the corner of her eye, Valerie saw a huge shape rising out of the top of the floating rock. Pale pink in color, it reminded her of some nightmarish combination between an octopus and a spider. A round, bloated abdomen was supported by four tremendous, semi-rigid limbs covered in suckers like tentacles.

The head was more like a cephalopod, though it had no eyes she could see, only a large curved beak lurking in between another pair of semi-rigid tentacular limbs. It was as long as the ship in body, twice as wide and its limbs reached at least two or three times that length.

Gneissminer pointed, "That's why." and flattened himself on the deck.

Valerie got down as well, and hissed, "The fuck is that thing?!?"

"Astral Kraken. They snare wanderers and devour them, or bind them in a cocoon for later." replied Gneissminer.

The Captain looked ready to skin the gnome alive, "You knew that thing was here?!?"

Gneissminer rolled his eyes, "Relax. That's what the troll is for." He then looked at Valerie. "Well? We're waiting..."

She growled at the gnome, hissed "You owe me for this!"

His answering look of mock-dopey condescension made her want to peel his face off. Instead, she rose, and set out flying towards the hideous Kraken. She managed to catch it off-guard as she soared in, letting forth a yell. She unleashed the primal fury within her, feeling it surging stronger than ever before as swiped at the beast's hide, a snap in her swing as she tried to knock it stupid.

It worked, the creature reeling from her attack, letting her settle in to tear at it with her full fury, again trying to knock it stupid, keep it off-balance as long as she could. Her claws and teeth tore vile pink ichor from its ravaged flesh, causing it to emit a hideous squealing sound.

Now it reared up on its hindmost limbs, lashing the four tentacle-like appendages at her, striking her and wrapping it around her, drawing her in to chew on her with its large parrotlike beak. She growled in pain, trying to wrest free, clawing at it, unable to give it a proper rending with both hands thanks to its hold on her.

It maintained its hold, chewing away at her. Thankfully her thick hide blunted some of the force, her regeneration battling against the injuries. She couldn't shake its grip, and kept ripping at it as best she could while it tried to further damage her with its beak. This time she managed to squirm around, keep it from getting a telling bite.

Again she tried to get away, clawing it when that proved fruitless. This time, the creature instead began to spit forth a thick, resinous goo from its maw, coating her as it rolled her around, trying to bind her inside it. Valerie cried out in alarm and thrashed, breaking the restraint of it easily, but was still trapped in its hold.

It resumed gnawing on her, but by this point she had recovered from her injuries already sustained. She tore at it once more when she couldn't break free. The creature let go of her then and started to fly away, seeking to flee under the extent of its wounds.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Valerie roared, launching herself after it. She darted in, ducking under slightly to tear at its bloated abdomen. The creature let out a last squeal as its guts began to spill forth from the fatal wound, curling upon itself like a dead spider, twitching, and going still.

From the ship, the Captain gave some sort of cry in Gith, turning the vessel to fly in closer. Valerie slung the Kraken's ichor from her hands, spit out the bitter snotlike liquid in her mouth, and flew back. The Captain looked at her with a grim respect, nodding his approval. "Now that was a sight to see!"

Gneissminer feigned indifference, but sidelong glances from him told Valerie he recognized her capability now that he'd seen it firsthand. Perhaps she might get a little more respect from him now that he'd seen her in action. Regardless, the Captain brought his ship in near the mooring area and soon had it tethered there.

"Right! Time to get to work!" called Gneissminer, launching himself off the deck and to the door of the place. He removed the heavy goggles she'd seen him wearing before and replaced his spectacles for them, digging in his apron and producing tools with which to open the locks on the place.

Valerie opened the hold and removed the trunks in the meantime. Once the door was opened, Gneissminer pointed. "Alright, scout around, make sure no other danger's afoot." Valerie approached, and looked inside. Shadows pooled near the handful of still-flickering blue torches upon the walls.

Inside, she found a series of passages, doors unbarred, and chambers where some sort of laboratory had been, along with other rooms she presumed were for sleeping and recreation. Scattered documents and remnants of alchemical equipment, the remains of furniture, were the bulk of what she found.

Only in the center did she spy anything unusual. A hollowed-out chamber, open to the astral void above, where she saw several cocoons stuck to the walls, remains of the Kraken's previous meals, and an odd glowing spark floating there in the center of the room. It gave off a greasy, chilled miasma to the air around it, and Valerie left to report back.

"All clear. Ruins of the laboratory and living space, plus what I guess is the Kraken's nest and some...energy-ball thing." she told the gnome. Gneissminer immediately entered, wandering around. Valerie lingered near the entrance, while the Captain lounged there on the ship, idly polishing his ornate sword.

It wasn't long before he called, "My equipment! Bring it to the center!" Valerie gathered the trunks, hauling them through the passageways to where the Kraken had laired. Gneissminer was peering at the energy-ball and its miasma with fascination.

"That all?" she asked.

"Yes, yes, now leave me be!" he said with annoyance, shooing her with flaps of his hand, as if she were a pesky bug.

She left him gladly, returning to the ship to lounge around with the Captain. After a while, she asked, "So what are you getting out of this?"

He grunted, "Hundred gold a day. You?"

She sighed, "I need a research project done. I help him with this, he'll do what I want."

The Captain spat, "Sounds like a poor deal to me, but whatever polishes your blade."

Some time passed with no word from Gneissminer, so Valerie went to look in on him. He'd set up a series of portable laboratory tables and was busy conducting what to her looked like some kind of mad-scientist chemistry experiment. He didn't even notice her there, so she assumed he was fine, and left him absorbed in his work.

Bored, she flew around the rock a few times, then returned to the ship. "So I guess we're stuck here until he's done, then it'll take three more days to get back." she commented.

The Captain said, "Not that long. No more'n a day, if that."

Valerie looked at him, "That's not possible. It took us that long to get here."

The Captain sneered, "The Astral ain't like the Prime. Any destination you seek, you can be there in a week, at the most. No matter where it is. Better you know the place, the faster you can get there. It's a kind of...sense. There's other planes like that. So since I know Tu'narath like the back o' my hand, we'll be there in no time."

Valerie shook her head, "If you say so." She did her best to while away the hours while the Captain puttered around with his ship, looking over the sails and rigging, inspecting the hull and so on. Finally, Gneissminer came and called, "You, troll! Come help me!"

Valerie was bored enough by this point she welcomed the distraction, following along as the gnome beckoned. "I want to collect all their research data, everything they left behind. Gather the papers into stacks and bind them with this." He reached into a pocket and produced a roll of twine, handing it over.

It wasn't the most exciting task, but it beat sitting there staring at nothing all day. She set to gathering the scattered papers up, looking everywhere she could, then stacking them up. None of them were in a script she could read. Outside of the occasional diagram, it was just meaningless text.

She began to grow tired, and stopped to find Gneissminer. He was stretching and yawning himself, but when he saw her asked, "Are you done?"

"Almost. I'll finish tomorrow."

Gneissminer seemed mildly annoyed by that, but said only "We'll be here another day, I'm sure."

Valerie considered asking how his research went, but decided she didn't really care. Filing out, she joined the Captain on the ship, and the trio settled in to rest. They went undisturbed, and the next day she resumed gathering and binding the documents together, finishing after only a short time. She brought them to the gnome, who looked at them, then frowned.

"These are unsorted!" he complained, glaring at her.

"Well, excuse me for not reading Gobbledeygook or whatever the Hell that is!" she fired back.

Gneissminer gave a martyred sigh, muttered something in a language she didn't understand, which was probably good considering how offensive the gnome usually was. She left him again to conduct his research, returning to the Captain's side on the ship.

After a time, the Captain said, "Fancy a game o' Tossers?" as he produced a dagger from his belt. He flipped up the hatch to the hold, where on the inner surface she saw the sight of a target, familiar rings and a central dot like used in dart games back home, or on archery ranges.

The pair took turns throwing, Valerie being surprisingly good, she discovered, though she had to watch how hard she threw to avoid poking any larger holes than she had to in the wood. The Captain was surprised by her skill, and after several rounds said "Good thing we ain't playin' for coin."

Valerie chuckled, and asked, "So how'd you end up doing this for a living?"

The Captain pointed to his burned face, "This helped. I was Imperial navy, before the War broke out an' everything went flip-sides for our kind. Got burnt by dragonfire when the Queen was destroyed an' the Dragon-Pact was broke. One went rogue on us right there aside our ship. With me hurt an' the Empire gone all out of sorts, I chose to get out. They fixed me up with this here gem-eye, gave me enough I could buy this skiff. An' here I be."

Valerie nodded, "Is that why your city looks broken-up? The war you mentioned?"

He spat, "Aye. Made a right mess o' everythin'. Dunno if I believe all this talk that Gith's returned for true or not. Might be it's just a trick the renegades pulled. But it ain't worth me fightin' over, either way. I just wanna sail the Astral sea an' be left to my own. So instead o' freebootin', I do my little charters, nice an' legal-like."

Valerie supposed that was as good a way to live as any, if living here was what you wanted to do. The tedium continued to grate at her, until late in the day Gneissminer called for her again, to gather the repacked trunks. She didn't see the documents, so she assumed they had been placed inside.

Hauling them back and storing them away, she asked "Did you get what you were after?"

Gneissminer said, "Yes, my work came out satisfactory. I won't bother you with the details, I doubt you'd understand them."

Valerie didn't give him the satisfaction of agreement, even if that was likely true. Instead she settled down on the deck of the ship. The Captain said, "We'll keep harbor here again and leave on the morrow." Gneissminer didn't seem to care, so they once more settled in to rest.

Free of disturbance, they arose and set sail the next day, returning to the formless silver expanse of the Astral Plane. But true to his word, it was only a few hours past midday when the sight of Tu'narath came into view. Once they were safely berthed again, Gneissminer produced a writbook and made final payment to the Captain.

Hauling his trunks, Valerie followed the gnome back to the same portal they'd used before, passing through and into Sigil. The sudden pull of objective gravity was strange, like having been in a swimming pool for a long time and returning to land. But the sight of the city of Sigil was a welcome change from the endless silent silver seas.

Even if she could have done without the smell.

She followed Gneissminer back to the Society hall, where she dropped off the trunks. "Okay, if you get ready for the next expedition, leave a message for me with the Brotherhood. Until then, and I say this with all respect, good riddance."

Gneissminer scoffed, but said nothing in reply as she left the hall. She looked around for a brief time before she located a tout, a somewhat grubby human boy that was all too happy to show her back to the Twin Kings Inn for a gold coin. Once there she arranged for her same suite, handed her things over to be cleaned, had a hot bath, a hot meal and a good night's rest in a decent bed.


	12. The Bull of Hades

Thump, thump, thump.

Valerie awakened fully, feeling a surging warmth in her that typically accompanied a fresh growth spurt. _Strange,_ she thought. _No weird dream-visions this time._ She rolled onto her side, feeling the bulk of her belly shift. It had grown, for certain. She got to her feet and saw, by her eyeline on the bed's canopy, that she had too.

She felt stronger, and there was a tensed power in her muscles, like she felt just before she hauled off to knock someone senseless. She made a few experimental swipes with her claws, and felt that snap coming as easily and naturally now as flexing her fingers. "This'll come in handy." she said with a smile.

She'd been close before. Had she fully matured as a troll, now? Or did she still have growing to do? Time would, tell, but it was for sure she was still developing in her pregnancy. She paused to look at her midsection in the mirror provided, saw the rounded shape and the pooch of her belly-button turned out.

Without any breasts on her chest, she thought she looked more like a glutton than a mother-to-be, though there was no sag to her tummy, like she'd expect from excess body fat. The movements inside told the truth, and she rubbed at her stomach. "Hey, there. You saying morning to mommy? Hmm?"

Yes, she was an ugly, nine-foot-tall green monster. But that didn't mean she didn't feel an empathy for the life growing inside her. Did ordinary trolls feel any such thing? Or did their upbringing wring such things from them? She wondered about other races, the goblinkin, orcs and kobolds. What was it like for them?

A knock at the door interrupted her reverie, and she redressed before calling "Come in." The serving woman who'd tended her thus far arrived with her breakfast. Valerie smiled, hunger whetting itself inside at the thought of the rich meal. As the delivery was finished, Valerie said "I'd like a hot bath this morning, please."

"As you say, miss. Enjoy." was the reply. Valerie settled down to have her meal. She'd be leaving the inn today for the Company hall in wait for that officious little gnome's readiness for his next expedition. Where was it? Hades? She remembered that as having to do with Greek mythology back home, wondered if there were any similarities.

Regardless, she intended to lurk around here and get her money's worth. That, she decided, meant lazing around in a hot bath this morning until lunch, then taking her last meal for every morsel she could get and finally leaving. Now that she had a better sense of how well her money would do for everyday things, she wasn't too worried about work.

She should stop risking something bad happening, endangering her child, even if she'd proved nigh-indestructible so far. One last job, then hopefully she could get out of this universe and get back to normal before her child was born. And if not, she'd take it easy until he or she came into the world.

She wished she could tell which she was having. But the only way she'd been able to tell Comar was male was by smell. She remembered how Vaprak had seemed genderless too, until...what happened had happened. Son and daughter both sounded fine to her, she just wanted them to be healthy.

A short time later, the serving woman came, informed her the bath was ready, and cleared the dishes. Valerie went to relax and soak in the warm bath, wash herself thoroughly and lazily, and soak some more, until the water lost all its heat. Then she finally drug herself out, dried off, brushed her hair and returned to lay around in her room.

The peace and privacy gave her time to think. If she was going to be here at least as long as it took to have her child, there were things she should do. One was see about becoming full brethren with the Company. Another was to try and get educated about this place, if she was gonna be stuck here for much longer.

She received lunch not long after, and lingered over the meal until at last it was gone. She gathered her things, gave the woman who'd waited on her a four gold tip and left. Once she located a tout, she directed him to take her to the Company hall, where she checked for messages.

None had arrived, so she asked if they'd be forwarded to Clawhold, passing along five gold to see to speedy delivery. With that, she recovered her travel papers and made her way inside and to the portal, passing through the guarded checkpoints until she returned to the company stronghold there on Oerth.

Once there, she found her way back to her bunk, dropped off her gear and went out to take in the fresh summer afternoon in the courtyard. It was a distinct relief from the sooty, choked air of Sigil, and to feel the warm sunshine on her skin was miles ahead of the stagnant 'daylight' of the planar city.

It wasn't long before an orc soldier approached her, "Miz Valerie?" he said, gave her an uncertain salute.

She turned, looked him over, "That's me."

"Lieutenant wants to see you. Follow me?"

"Alright." She trailed after, back inside the mountain and around to an office where Comar was waiting, seated at a chair and desk sized for him.

He smiled when she came in, "Well met." Looked past, "That'll be all, soldier." and saluted when he did likewise. He stood, walked up to her, standing more or less eye-to-eye now. "Guess you're done growin', height-wise."

Valerie said, "I hope so. One of these days I hope I can get some new clothes and not have to worry about them losing their fit." She still wore the loose toga garment the Guardinals had given her. It did nicely for something that could adjust to her changes in size, but she was getting a little tired of it.

Comar grunted, "How was your trip? Find anythin' useful?"

Valerie said, "Nothing yet. I'm dealing with some obnoxious little gnome who's supposed to be a big expert on the planes. I couldn't just buy him off, he wants my help going to some sort of special sites where he does some kind of research."

Comar scratched at his head, "Sounds kinda familiar. I never worked for no one like that, but I think we had job listings from someone others said was like that."

"Well, we went to the Astral Plane, some outpost where I had to fight a giant octopus-spider-looking thing. Astral Kraken, I think they said?"

Comar's brows raised, "You killed it on your own?"

Valerie nodded, "It was a pain, but I got it down eventually. Then he did what he had to do, and we came on back. Next he wants to go to Hades."

Comar frowned, "I'd say that's a bad idea, but if you stood up to an Astral Kraken, you oughtta be okay. Just don't stay too long, less you end up trapped there."

"How so?"

"Hades...it drains your will to live, like. Makes you just wanna give up, do nothing, stop carin', that kinda thing. It's the opposite of Elysium, if you ever been there."

"I have, they warned me about Elysium trapping you, too. So Hades is like the evil version?"

"Yeah. Plus, it's a major battleground in the Blood War, so you got Demons and Devils wanderin' all over, spoilin' to fight."

Valerie scowled, "Oh, even better." she griped sarcastically.

"So make sure you got a solid way in and outta there."

"I will. Thanks, Comar."

"So you gonna stay here until time for your next trip?"

"Yeah. Sigil's got some nice places to stay, but I miss fresh air and sunshine too much."

Comar chuckled, "Can't say I blame ya. Well, come around in the courtyard at morning time. I could use a sparrin' partner."

Valerie smiled, "I'd like that."

The male troll looked back at his desk, and sighed. "I'd sooner fight a dragon than keep scribblin' at all this mess. But..." he walked around and sat again, "that's the job."

Valerie said, "All due respect, but...better you than me."

He smirked, "Awright, get outta here." he said good-naturedly.

Valerie left him to his paperwork and returned to her bunk, where she collected her spears. It had been a while since she'd done any throwing with them, best to keep in practice. She returned to the courtyard, found some targets and spent an hour or so tossing and recovering them at various distances.

When she tired of that, she stopped to watch some of the soldiers at drill, fighting in formation with sword and shield. Then sparring with one another, as the afternoon wore on. She returned to her bunk, washed up with some cool water after being out in the warm sunshine all afternoon, and went to the mess.

There she ran into both Paevo and Yena, and over dinner caught them up on her adventure. Yena nodded sympathetically, "I've escorted people like that before. You end up wanting to tear their throats out rather than get paid."

Paevo gave a hissing spat, " 'Arse-end of a diarrhetic kobold' indeed! That's the sort of racism that keeps our people at each others' throats." He took a deep breath, and rustled his claws over the horn-ridges on his head, "But being a pompous ass knows no racial walls." he sighed.

Once the meal was over, she retired to her bunk, wanting to get plenty of sleep for the morning, when she rose early and was there for breakfast before they'd even finished preparing it. She had her fare and was out in the courtyard, stretching and limbering up when Comar arrived.

"Ah, someone's eager for a thumpin', I see!" swaggered the troll, grinning.

"Just what I was thinking." fired back Valerie with the same playful bombast.

"Put 'em up, lessee whatcha got!" answered Comar, and the two set to brawling. Now that she could snap her hands around like that more or less at will, it wasn't long before she rang Comar's bell a good one. He shook his head, "Yeah, you even hit like Varrok now."

"I'd like to meet him, where is he at?" asked Valerie.

"Last I heard he was out on Eberron, chasin' down secrets of their fallen giant empires on that one island, Zen-somethin'. I'd check with Bork, he's apt to visit him if he's in town."

"Bork Stonemaul? And where's he?"

"He owns the Circus Tempus in Sigil. His idea of retirement is watchin' people knock the guts outta each other every day. Speakin' of, if you could move your hands like you do your tongue, you might be dangerous."

"Dangerous enough."

"Yeah, right up until you ain't. Stay in this line of work long enough, you learn what we all learn: no one's immortal. Sooner or later you're gonna get dead, one way or the other. Your only hope's to make sure someone'll look for you if it comes to that and see you get to come back. And, be as prepared as you can to keep it from happening."

That attitude just seemed alien to her mind. Of course, she still didn't really believe in coming back from the dead, the way they all said was possible. "So what can I do?"

"Here, try makin' your swings shorter and tighter. And when you latch on, tear in, don't waste your movement so much. Snap your hands back in, claw at 'em some more. You might hit, you might not. But the faster you tear one foe down, the faster you get through the others."

Valerie had seen in her battle with those orcs how numbers could wear even her down. She recognized the value of Comar's advice there, and so started working on getting in more blows at a time. It wasn't easy, Comar was used to fending them off, but after a few hours of practice, she was improving.

Comar seemed glad for the excuse to work with her, and switched from his claws to a greatsword after a time, letting her practice against that as well. By midday she was feeling sweaty and tired, but well-exercised. The pair broke for lunch, and after he went off, grumbling, to handle more bureaucracy.

Valerie instead spent a little time engaging in some lazy throwing practice, watched the soldiers drilling with polearms and fighting in formation today, then got cleaned up and joined everyone for dinner. Afterwards, she decided to check out the common room, where many tended to gather in the evenings.

Besides the expected rounds of booze and various games of cards and dice, they were playing games of skill, including knife games of the sort her uncle had talked about, swapping stories of life on and off duty at faraway places: Vaasa, Rookroost, Murann, Oenkhmar, Skullport, Thar, Rockhome, Riftcrag.

Eventually she retired for the evening, sleeping soundly, only to rise the next morning feeling a bit stiff and sore from her exercise the previous day. She joined Comar again for more sparring, while Blind Jak arrived and got involved after a time as well.

For all the hulking beetle-like being seemed ungainly and slow, he was actually quite nimble and skilled at dodging around, cunning in his attempts to take her off her feet. She had to be careful not to hit him full-force with her claws, something that wasn't a concern with Comar.

He didn't have any such reservations, though like Comar he was mindful of not striking her midsection. He did haul off and strike her at one point in such a way that left her stunned and wide open for several moments. "What was that?!?" she asked.

"I have trained with monastic orders well-versed in unarmed combat. I combine their skills with my own natural weaponry. I am surprised the blow worked, your kind are usually very difficult to stun." replied the Umber Hulk.

_Great, he's a Killer Kung-Fu Beetle._ thought Valerie to herself, and smiled. After a time she stepped aside to let Comar and Jak spar instead, before midday and mealtime arrived. Not long after she finished, a new kobold she hadn't seen around arrived.

It stood out immediately, because instead of the usual shades of red-brown most of the kobolds came in, this one had polished silver scales, and striking blue eyes instead of the red-orange ones of others. It was wearing some sort of leather armor with a pair of goggles on its head, hauling a backpack with a small sword at its side.

From the smell as it approached, she could tell it was male. It peered up at her, "Valerie Bridgewater?"

She nodded, "That's me."

The kobold held a hand up, "Argen Redscale. Looks like we'll be working together."

Valerie shook his hand carefully, "Really? On what?"

Argen reached into his belt pouch and produced a document, "Expedition to Hades with one Gnosticus Gneissminer?" he prompted, holding up what proved to be a signed contract. She bent down, looked it over briefly.

"Yeah, I guess so. He tell you when we're leaving?" asked Valerie.

"Tomorrow, unless you've got some reason to delay. Figured it was easier to relay the message myself."

"Okay. I need to get a travel pass--"

Argen waved a dismissive hand, "No need, I've got you covered."

Valerie raised her brows, but said "Okay, if you say so."

"I do. I can get us anywhere we need to go." the kobold drew himself up pridefully, thumbing at his chest.

Comar approached as Argen was saying that, tossed out "Yeah, an' steal everything what ain't nailed down."

Argen fired back, "Only if you don't break it first."

Comar pointed, "Oh, me break? What about the time you shoved that ditherbomb--"

Argen spoke up over him, "Yeah, yeah, one time I go off-target, one time!"

"--right onto the sultan's palace in the City of Brass! We had Ifrit camped outside the Hall for nearly a week before your father--"

Argen snorted, "Oh yes, let's not forget to bring him into the story..."

"--negotiated a bounty for your little accident. That came out of--"

Argen said, "Everyone's pay for the Vaasa campaign! I got it! Hlal's smile, Comar, how many times--"

"At least one more."

"That's what you say every time!"

"See? Least I ain't lyin'."

Argen looked at Valerie, "Don't screw up in this line of work, or they'll never let you live it down." He crossed his arms indignantly, though she got the impression it was more for show than out of any real resentment.

Comar said, " _Talarmat_ may be little, but when it comes to gettin' their pride hurt, they're titans." He gave Argen a playful shove, started off.

Argen hunched forward behind him, swayed his arms back and forth, said in a low dopey gravelly tone, "Hurr hurr grr, gotta do paperwork, hurr grr hurr..."

Comar looked back, "Hey, that's not bad. Maybe when you're ready for a real job you can be a mummer instead of a doorman."

Argen replied with a hissing spat, but smiled after nonetheless, letting Comar exit.

Valerie shook her head once the show was over. "What did he mean by doorman?"

Argen said, "I'm what they call a Gatecrasher. You know what burglars do to doors and windows? I do that to portals."

Valerie said, "You break into them?"

"And more. I can crash two different portals together, make 'em link up. There's almost nowhere I can't go."

"So you're a portal hacker?"

The kobold tilted his head, "I never heard it put that way...but I suppose you could say that."

"So you can get us where Gneissminer wants to go?"

"I can get us somewhere fairly close. We'll have to travel a while to get to the actual site, but don't worry. I have ways to keep us from being seen."

"Okay. When are we going to Sigil?"

"Whenever you're ready, but no later than the morning."

"I'd rather stay here tonight."

Argen gave a shrug, "Okay. One kip's the same as the rest, to me."

"So lemme ask: Have you ever heard of a place called Earth? Not the Elemental Plane or this world."

"Earth. Hmm...no, can't say I have. Why?"

"It's where I'm from. Trying to find a way back."

"I see. If I hear anything I'll let you know. I'm always interested in finding new places to go."

"Thanks. So where is it you can't go?"

"Any portals I haven't discovered. And to Sigil through any portal that doesn't already link there. Or if The Lady locks me out."

"Has she?"

"Not yet, much as I'm sure some wish she would." he gave a smug little grin.

Valerie gave a smile, "Alright. I'm gonna get some target practice in. See you, Argen."

The kobold gave a quick wave as she left for the courtyard to spend some time tossing her spears, then watch the soldiers at drill, practicing coordinated archery volleys. When the time came, she returned for dinner, then retired to her bunk to be well-rested for the trip the next day.

She arose early to get everything together and be ready by breakfast. Argen was there, and once they'd feasted he led her along through the portal checkpoints back to the Company Hall in Sigil. "So can you crash into the portals back there in Midway?" asked Valerie.

"I can, but I try not to, especially if I have others with me. I'm one of a very few people with permanent access in there, so the golems won't attack me for crossing through. Those I'm escorting, on the other hand..."

Valerie nodded as Argen reached into his backpack and hauled out a large rug. While he unrolled it, she said "Flying carpet?"

"Yep. Climb on." replied Argen, taking a seat at one end. Valerie sat near the back, and the carpet lifted up. "You've ridden before?" he asked, glancing back.

"Yeah, but not too fast, okay?"

"Sure. Here we go!" He got the carpet into motion and they lifted up, over the wall and out above the streets of Sigil. From up here, just above the rooftops, the view of the city was more colorful, but also even stranger, as she could see much more of the curve to everything.

Argen seemed undaunted by it, just flew along steadily until he said "Okay, hold on tight. We're gonna switch gravity planes." He started rising steadily upwards.

"We what??" asked Valerie, but she reached down, grabbing the edges of the carpet, careful not to punch holes with her claws. Then, as they drew upwards and away, there came a moment where she felt herself go weightless, and the world spun suddenly as Argen rolled the carpet.

She cried out in alarm, but then felt gravity reassert itself as they were now...descending. She took a moment to collect herself, then shook her head. "Ugh. What...?"

"Gravity tugs down all around the circle of the streets, right? So in the very center there, it's no gravity. I've heard of some that ride it like a rapid river course, but I was never crazy enough to try."

Valerie just shook her head and remained quiet as he got underway again, flying down and around until they arrived at the Cartographic Society's halls. "Grab the carpet, would you?" asked Argen. Valerie stooped to roll it up and toss it over her shoulder before they entered.

There Gneissminer was waiting impatiently with his trunks of equipment. "About time you showed up!" he scolded them, then peered at Valerie. "Did you get bigger? And fatter?"

"Yeah, I started eating four gnomes a day instead of two." she replied sourly, and Argen smirked.

"Okay, let's get this stuff loaded up." said the kobold. He reached to the small of his back, where what Valerie thought was a blanket of some kind was unrolled to be a rather large sack. "Stick those things in there, will you?" he asked her, holding the bag open for her.

"The trunks? They won't fit!" replied Valerie.

"Sure they will. It's a magic bag, they'll fit, just like how I fit the carpet in my pack."

"Okay..." said Valerie, picking one up and sliding it into the bag. Once inside, she let go...and it just seemed to vanish. She jerked in surprise, reached her hand in, waved it around. Nothing. Shrugging, she grabbed the next, repeated the action, and then the final one.

Argen rolled it back up when she was done, stowing it away. "Okay, let's go. Have to find a portal."

When they stepped out, Valerie pointed. "There's one right there."

Argen stopped and looked at her, "How did you know that?"

Valerie shrugged, "I dunno, I just...see them. Hear them, too. They're everywhere."

The kobold lowered his goggles, fiddled with the lenses. "Well, so there is." he said after a few moments. He looked up at her with a growing smile. "I think you and I need to spend some time exploring together."

"And I think you need to spend some time getting on with what I'm paying you to do!" sniped Gneissminer indignantly.

As Argen approached the portal, Valerie muttered, "Can't we just stick him in the bag, too?"

Argen gave a bark of laughter, "Sadly, he'd suffocate in short order. And I still need to get the rest of my payment." Stepping up to where the shimmering doorway hung there just inside an alleyway, Argen removed a few items from his belt. A white crystal rod, a little glass vial with some sort of yellow-green powder, and...a bright red feather?

He set to work then, moving and poking the items at the surface of the portal. Valerie could see it waver and twist, hear the warbling whine fluctuate like an old-fashioned radio tuner seeking a signal. It took him a minute, but then the portal flared to life. "That's it! Everyone through!"

Gneissminer said, "If this is a trick..." archly, before he hopped on through. Valerie stepped through, with the diving sensation and moment of blackness, into a place of gray bleakness. Argen hopped through after, putting away his tools, while Valerie took in the surroundings.

The ground was the gray of wet cement, though barren and dry save for a few stunted, almost blackened leafless trees twisting from the ground here and there. The sky was a pale ashen gray, a perpetual gloom of desultory daylight. Distantly, she could hear the sound of clanging metal, yells and screams. It seemed to come from all directions.

"Carpet, please." said Argen, and Valerie laid it out, unrolling it.

"What is that?" she asked of the sound.

"The Blood War. Everywhere you go here on Oinos, you'll hear it. Louder of course when you draw close to the engagements, but it echoes throughout the whole layer." Argen said, then climbed onto the carpet, looking around carefully. "Okay, get on."

He reached into his backpack, removed a large candle which had wicks sprouting from either end. Then removed a small bronze sphere with what looked like a lens of some kind built into it. To Gneissminer he said, "Your attuned item, please." The gnome reached into his apron and removed a small book.

Argen held it up, pointed the lens of the sphere at it. Suddenly, with a series of ratcheting clicks, the sphere expanded out into something like a cross between a telescope and an astrolabe. He peered through it, then held it outwards. It twisted, turned, and stopped in a direction off to their right.

Handing the book back, he compacted the device again, tucked it away, took up the candle. "When I light this, we'll be covered by a shroud of invisibility and silence. It won't stop everything from seeing us, but it should do a good enough job we can stay unnoticed from the air. While I fly, help keep an eye out. If you see something coming towards us, tap me on the shoulder and point. If you absolutely have to say something, tap me twice on the shoulder and I'll extinguish the silence end. Ready?"

Gneissminer nodded, as did Valerie. With that, Argen snapped his fingers, and the world went silent. He snapped them again inaudibly, then set the candle on his lap and lifted the carpet up and away into the skies. Flying along, in this gloomy gray place, in absolute silence, was eerie and unnerving.

The landscape was so bleak and dead. It was like how you imagined the end of the world would be, once everything was dead. Just a husk, left to fall to pieces after all else had vanished. Now and then she saw things moving about on the ground, but at their height it was difficult to tell what they were, other than 'not human'.

Nothing in the skies either, just that same gray expanse. It reminded her of the Astral Plane, only it at least seemed more like a silver mist, not this gray...nothing. She tried to keep her eyes open, stay alert, but it was becoming harder. It seemed pointless, really.

Hunger developed in her, and eventually Argen halted, extinguished the silencing wick. "Lunchtime." he said, reaching to his pack and removing several small pouches. He handed one to Gneissminer and one to Valerie, keeping a third for himself. "Oh, lovely. Travel rations." griped the gnome, but set into chewing at the dry, leathery brick inside the pouch, sipping at the water in the accompanying canteen.

Valerie did likewise, as she looked around, muttering "This place is fucking depressing."

"It is. Stay here too long and you'll end up trapped by the planar essence." replied Argen.

Reminded of that, Valerie tried to shake herself from some of the gloom, returning the ration pouch when she'd finished. She was getting tired of sitting there. "Any way we can land and stretch our legs?"

Argen looked down and around. "Well...I suppose. We have to be careful." He took the carpet down, flew around as he searched, then descended. "Okay, just for a minute."

Valerie stood and stretched with a grateful groan. Even Gneissminer looked pleased to be able to stand up. Argen did so too, but he stayed there on the carpet. Valerie dug her toe-claws at the ground, scraping at the powdery gray soil. The sounds of battle still echoed in the air. She tried to discern any sense to them, but it was all just meaningless noise.

True to his word, Argen urged them back onto the carpet shortly after, and re-lit the candle, getting them underway. Hours passed, dull but uneventful, as they traveled, before Argen extinguished the silence wick again. "Time to make camp." He drifted down to about fifty feet off the ground, but didn't land. Instead he stood, reached into his pack, and removed a length of rope.

Twirling it like a lasso, he tossed it upwards...and it disappeared into the air. He tugged at it, then pointed. "Up you go."

Gneissminer smirked at him, "Very clever." and climbed up.

Valerie stepped under, looked up...and saw a hole leading...somewhere. "The Hell??"

Argen explained, "It's a Rope Trick spell. Creates an extradimensional pocket you can use as a hideout. Once we're all in, I'll pull the rope up and we can relax."

Valerie wasn't sure about that, but she did as instructed, to find herself in another gray space, though this one reminded her more of the Astral Plane. Once Argen flew up, he folded the edges of the carpet slightly to finish getting in, then settled and drug the rope up. Extinguishing the candle fully, he tucked it away and smiled. "Here we are, safe as can be."

Gneissminer grunted in reply, and Valerie asked, "Where are we? The Astral Plane?"

Argen shook his head, "The Ethereal, actually. Nothing is apt to see us up in here." He unpacked food to share around, and laid out his bedroll. Gneissminer did the same, and Valerie followed suit. Tucked away in here, she didn't feel that pall of gloom and despair weighing her down as she did out there in Hades proper.

"So do we need to keep a watch?" asked Valerie.

"I've got that covered." replied Argen. "Give me a couple hours to rest, then I'll keep my eyes out while you two sleep." He held up one hand, flashed a ring. "Ring of Sustenance." he explained.

Valerie had no idea what that meant exactly, but she took him at his word and settled back, stretching out, glad for the chance to relax. Argen curled up and was soon asleep, while Gneissminer was happy to settle down with a book to read. Time passed, and Argen was awake soon enough, looking refreshed.

Once he did, Valerie laid down and fell asleep herself. She awakened some time after, feeling rested. Gneissminer was up soon, and once they broke their fast, Argen got the carpet and candles going, slid down from the hole out of the camp space to hover below. Valerie and the gnome climbed down and got settled, Argen recovered the rope holding the camp in place, then made another direction check with that curious little collapsible telescope/astrolabe thing of his.

Oriented, they set out on their journey once more, the dreary pall of the plane reasserting itself quickly. But Valerie did her best to stay alert, make sure nothing seemed to be coming in their direction. She spied a winged, tailed creature once far off to the side and below, and at another point she saw a horse running in midair, with eyes and a mane like fire, but neither of these creatures moved towards them.

They stopped at midday to rest, take a quick stretch in another seemingly safe location. "How much further?" asked Valerie, quickly tiring of being in this place.

"We should be there in another hour or two." replied Argen.

"Then we get to see what was so horrible he needed me to come along." grumbled Valerie, eyeing the gnome unpleasantly.

"I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle." replied Gneissminer archly, crossing his arms indignantly.

The trio got underway again, and somewhere between one and two hours later, ahead they spied what looked like a pond there in the midst of the waste, a stunted tree near one side. The water was black as midnight, but most remarkable was the tremendous creature there at its shore.

It had to be more than twice Valerie's height, looking like some sort of horrible cross between a bison and a minotaur. Prodigiously muscled, it had grey skin with charcoal-colored woolen hair upon its head and shoulders. It was crouched there, forearms across its knees, great hooves digging into the soil as it peered down into the water, unmoving.

Valerie tapped Argen's shoulder twice, and he snuffed the silencing wick. "The Hell is that thing?!? It's the size of a building!" she hissed.

"Goristro. A siege-demon of the Blood War. They use them to breach fortifications and wreak general havoc amongst smaller enemies." replied Gneissminer calmly.

"What's it doing just...staring into the water?" asked Argen.

"I have my theories, but I'm not apt to test them by making my presence known to the brute." replied Gneissminer.

Valerie sneered, "So I have to go down there and provoke it." She gave the gnome a hard look, "I survive this? You owe me. A lot."

He waved a dismissive hand, "Yes, yes, I know. Now get on with killing it, will you?"

Valerie said, "Bring me down behind it?"

Argen nodded and circled the carpet around and down. Valerie carefully stepped off, and the two small beings hovered upwards. Once they rose up around fifteen feet, they seemed to just vanish completely. Valerie turned her attention to the crouching beast, who even now was taller than her. When it stood up...

Valerie took a deep breath. _This is it..._

Digging inside, she unleashed her primal fury and charged in, slashing with her claws. Even though she wounded it, she could feel a toughness there to its hide as she struck, blunting the force of her blow. Then she felt the amulet she wore tingle and send an energy through her. Its enchantment going to work?

The demon gave a cry of pain, sounding like a bull through a loudspeaker. But before it could react, she laid into it with her full fury, claws and teeth working hard as they could. This time, she went through its hide easily, and felt glad she'd invested in this amulet after all. The beast reeled under her assault, apparently struck dumb by the force of her blows.

She threw herself into a fresh series of attacks, one of her claw swipes failing to dig deep enough to harm it, but the others all tore into its flesh. Again she kept it off-balance, unable to counter, as the beast staggered, weakened greatly by her savage power.

Taking advantage of an opening presented, she slipped in, thrust her claws upwards, latched onto the ugly monstrosity's neck and tore it open, a shower of black ichor splashing her from above as it gave a final choked gurgle. She dodged aside as it toppled forward onto the ground, unmoving, eyes going glassy.

Just then, a cry from behind caused her to turn and spy the approach over a nearby hillside of three bizarre creatures. Two looked like hulking, black-skinned froglike creatures, hunched forward on all fours, but giving the impression they could stand if they wished, perhaps not as tall as her, but wide and bulky in form.

The third was a tall spiderlike creature, several feet higher than her, with a dark carapace and four of its eight eyes looking like they were made from gems. Was it a living thing, or some kind of made thing? She couldn't tell, she only knew it was coming this way, as were the froglike creatures.

One of them pointed at Valerie, shouting something to the spiderlike thing. Holding to her rage, she prepared to meet them, moving forward and hurling a spear at the spider-thing, striking its side. She saw no blood or other fluid leak from where she hit, so she guessed it was some sort of made thing.

The two froglike creatures rose up, croaking loudly, and beside one, suddenly a third one appeared in a plume of dark smoke. "Oh, you cheating fucks..." growled Valerie, seeing that. The spiderlike thing advanced closer, the red eye on its head suddenly glowing, sending a beam of energy flying at her.

When it struck, it burst into a fiery explosion. She tried to throw herself aside, but still felt the heat scorch her hide. Snarling, she advanced on the spider-thing, noticing as she drew close a hideous stench in the air, rising to choking levels that left her feeling ill. But it didn't stop her from clawing at the towering spider-thing.

The three froglike things moved in around her, the smell of all three at once nearly gag-enducing. But she kept her gorge in check as they all reared up. One let out a loud croaking noise that echoed into the air around her, passing over her, shaking her to her core. A wave of weakness came upon her as she reeled from the hideous sound.

The other two followed up with calling forth explosions of energy, one a multicolored riot, the other a wash of cold, greasy-feeling black energy. Her skin burned and chilled from the magic called down, the spider-thing fired forth another ray, this time from a white gem-eye, splashing her with a wave of deep cold she tried her best to avoid. It then lashed out with its four claws and mandibles, to no effect.

Trying to shake herself from the haze the frog-monster put her in, the three creatures rose up, trying that horrible croak. The sound washed over her, but she felt her body turn its magic aside. When all three had failed to affect her, the spider-thing blasted her with a ray from its blue gem-eye, shocking her with an electric burst.

Finally back to her senses, she snarled and launched herself at it first, failing to find purchase with one of her claw swipes, but tearing it up, even weakened as she was by the magic and horrid smell of the frog-monsters. They unleashed that horrible croaking, knocking her senseless again, and one attacked, causing a minor wound with its claws.

The spider-thing fired a beam from a gray-colored eye now, and she felt a strange tension build briefly over her body before fading. Its flurry of claw strikes managed to deliver a more significant injury than the frog-monster, as she tried to shake herself loose from her stupor.

It wasn't to be, for again the frog-monsters reared, one croaking and knocking her senseless once again, keeping her weakened. The other two tried to claw and bite her, but to no avail. The spider-thing, for whatever reason, didn't fire anything from its eyes, slashing with its claws and biting, but also failed to harm her.

Again she tried to shake off her dizziness, only to be knocked stupid once more by the incessant croaking of these ugly creatures. This time the other two called upon their magic again, blasting her with the multicolored light and greasy-feeling cold dark mist. The spider-thing fired another ray from its red eye, and this time it struck full-force, burning her harshly.

Once more fighting to collect herself, she was again sent reeling by a croak from a frog monster as the other two struck with their magics. The multicolored burst struck her hard, but the greasy darkness seemed not to affect her this time. The spider-thing struck her again with that freezing ray from its eye, clawing at her to no real effect.

She began to collect herself again, and was surprised to see the frog-monsters didn't croak at her again. Instead they used their other magics, of which only the colored burst harmed her. The spider-thing shot her again with an electric jolt, clawing and biting ineffectually.

Finally able to act again, she let forth a roar and latched onto the spider-thing, tearing its head from its body and tossing it aside. It toppled over as she turned towards one of the frog-monsters, lashing out at it with her claws and teeth. She met resistance, strangely unable to get her fangs through its hide, but she felt her amulet send its magic tingling through her again as her target reeled under her attacks. "Shoe's on the other foot now!" she called gleefully.

The other two frog-things moved back away from her, giving her a brief respite from their horrid stench, striking away with their magic again. Feeling her rage starting to wind down, she stepped up to press her attack, again sending it reeling under her fury. The two others kept up their spell barrage, to little effect, as she launched a last swipe, slaying one of them at last.

She advanced in on a second, as they each kept their distance, calling on some other magic that caused their bodies to dissipate into a greasy black mist, retaining a more or less froglike shape. The one closest to her remained near the ground while the other began to fly into the air.

She thrust her claws into the mist, cutting through it, finding resistance enough as wisps of the mist flew away and disappeared, a ghostly groaning in the air. She could still hurt it, hopefully still kill it. The other called down its magic on her again as it flew further into the air, to no effect.

She lashed out, shredding the misty form of the frog-thing, sending it dissipating fully into the air. Looking up at the last one, she drew one of her four remaining spears out. Finally free of the sickening stink of the thing, the remaining frog-monster threw another spell, failing again to harm her.

She took aim, hurling her spear through its form, to little effect. It threw another multicolored burst, and she took minor damage from it, now healing faster than she was being hurt. As her rage started to finally fade, she threw another spear, striking again, this time seeming to disrupt it with the force of her toss.

The weakness of her post-adrenaline rush came along, but she felt the drained, weakened feeling flee from the monsters' hideous croaking earlier as well, which resulted in something of a net gain in strength for her. She drew her fourth spear and tossed it, again disrupting the foggy creature.

Final spear in hand, she threw it, then looked about for something else to hurl at it. She noticed there in the trunk of the tree, near the water, a black-shafted metal spear, ornately made, set with some kind of gem near the head and carved with silvery runes. Moving towards it, she yanked it free and found it surprisingly light in her grip.

She threw it, seeming to cause more damage to it the way the misty substance of its form dissipated noticeably, but then it shimmered, wavered, and just...vanished. Before she could really stop to consider that, the black metal spear she'd just thrown reappeared there, just above her palm!

She jerked, fumbled for a moment, but caught hold of it, then realized it had returned to her. She turned, looking around for the misty form of the creature she'd been fighting. When it didn't reappear, she tried tossing the spear into the dirt nearby. Moments later, it vanished, reappearing in her hand.

A grin spread across her face as she crouched down, resting. "Magic spear, huh? Yeah, this'll be useful." she said to herself, while from above, Argen and Gneissminer came into view. Gneissminer looked at the water with an eager anticipation, while Argen stared at Valerie with a look of respectful admiration.

"Now that was impressive." the kobold said once he'd landed the carpet. "I've never seen or heard of anyone taking out a Goristro like that, much less dealing with Hezrou and a Retriever on top of it! And you found yourself an enchanted spear to boot? Looks like this trip was worth your while."

"Yes, yes, huzzah, now let's get on with something that actually matters!" said Gneissminer, walking down towards the water, looking it over. "My equipment!" he said, snapping his fingers.

Valerie said, "You're welcome." grumpily while Argen just shook his head, shrugged helplessly and unpacked the sack they'd stored his equipment trunks in.

Once they'd been produced and Gneissminer dug into them after his lab setup, Valerie went about collecting her thrown spears. Meantime, she saw the corpses of the creatures she'd fought dissolve away into a foul black ichor before disappearing entirely. Only the spiderlike thing remained, laying there broken and still like a damaged toy.

"So what were those things? More demons?" she asked Argen.

He nodded, "Well, the Retriever's actually a construct, but one made by demons. Given how they were acting, I have a feeling they might've been using it to track down the Goristro."

Valerie thought about that, "So I went and killed their prize bull, or something." She shrugged, "Makes about as much sense as everything else, I suppose." She settled down, having recovered from her injuries, to watch the gnome run his series of tests on the water from the pool.

"Do you have any idea why this place matters so much to him?" she asked Argen after a time.

Argen said, "It's a planar touchstone, and from what I gather, it was important to one of the old Factions that used to run Sigil, called the Doomguard."

"What's a touchstone?"

"They're sites where the energies of the plane in question concentrate. If someone understands how to access those energies, they can gain magical powers based on what the site involves." Argen stretched his arms over his head and yawned, his crocodilian snout stretching wide. "I suppose if I cared I could figure it out myself. But touchstones don't interest me. Just portals."

Before long it began to grow dark, and Argen said "Time to pack it up and make camp."

Gneissminer said testily, "In a minute, I'm right in the middle of something!"

Argen said, "It's called the Grey Waste of Hades. And if you don't get your lab packed up, it's staying out here with you while Valerie and I get secreted away."

Gneissminer sent Argen a dirty look, but set to packing the equipment away. "I still have a lot of important experiments to do!"

"Fine by me, I get paid by the day anyways." said Argen diffidently as he produced the enchanted rope from before. Once the trunks were packed and tucked away, they flew up to make camp again in the sky and the dimensional pocket. Dinner, then rest followed.

The next day they returned down to the side of the pond, where Gneissminer became engaged in his research again while Argen and Valerie kept watch for potential danger. None presented itself, and Valerie contented herself with pacing this way and that, playing with her new magic spear now and again.

The dismal pall was growing worse, Valerie wanted to get off this plane, but even that was starting to seem less and less attractive. She wanted to just stop bothering, sit down, do nothing. What was the point, really? She was just going to end up dead eventually, whether it was on Earth, here, any of a thousand ways.

She could shake these thoughts off, but the weight of them was growing heavier and heavier. She began to see how this place could drag you down, keep you from caring about leaving. Lunch passed, and as dinnertime drew near, Gneissminer said, "I suppose I've done all the work I can. I'd stay longer, but it wouldn't be worth what you're charging."

Argen said, "Suits me. Get it packed up and we'll get off this miserable plane."

Once that was done, Argen packed up the flying carpet as well. That confused Valerie, "We're not flying out?"

Argen shook his head, "Nope. Plane-shifting. Take my hand." he said, offering one to her and one to Gneissminer. The gnome looked at it with disapproval, but did it nonetheless. Valerie did likewise, and moments later, she felt a dropping, lurching sensation like freefall as everything went black for a moment...then faded into silver. The Astral Plane.

"Okay, let's find a color pool and get out of here." said Argen, starting to fly off. Gneissminer flew after, and once she took a moment to center herself, Valerie took to Astral flight once more herself. It didn't take long to locate a swirling vortex like she'd seen before, this one a fiery red.

"Now to crash it." said Argen, flying close and producing a yellow orb, a vial of some green sand and a small twig burning with a blue flame. Juggling them around the portal's surface, it didn't take long before it shifted colors again. "Get through!" he called.

Valerie flew in, then nearly fell as gravity reasserted itself on the far side of the portal. Stumbling forward, she found herself standing in some kind of...park? The sky was blue but dimming as the sun set, around her she saw manicured grass, trimmed hedges, gravel walking trails, a gazebo.

Beyond, more gravel roads, buildings, people walking around. And far off in the horizon, a tall, slender spire stretching into the sky, where a ring-shaped structure floated above the flattened, platter-like top. Gneissminer and Argen joined her, and the gnome grunted, "Tradegate, good. Come, back to the city." He set off at once.

Valerie followed beside Argen, "What's this place?"

"This is Tradegate, border town to the plane of Bytopia, here in the Outlands. And that, floating back up there atop the Spire, is Sigil." explained the kobold as they walked. "Take note where we go up here. As a Company associate, you can use this portal to and from Sigil."

They were soon in a queue leading to said portal, and once they produced their documents were all waved through. Back into the choking stink of Sigil, Valerie might've welcomed it more had the air not been much fresher down in that Tradegate place. Still, she endured it, knowing her journey was almost over for now.

Once they returned to the Cartographic Society and unloaded the gnome's trunks, Valerie said "I expect news from you on your progress. Leave it at the Monstrous Brotherhood's Company Hall, care of Valerie Bridgewater."

Gneissminer waved his hand irritably at her reminder, "Yes, yes...Menzies! Boy, come fetch my trunks, I've returned!" he called, walking back inside their offices.

"And if you don't I'll be along to squish you underfoot." she muttered to herself. Argen snickered and called, "Yes, and forgotten to finish paying me!" as he went after the gnome.

"Oh, is money all you think about, you bothersome kobold?" griped Gneissminer.

"It's certainly not the pleasure of your company." Argen quipped back.

More muttering, then Gneissminer called again, "MENZIES!"

Argen returned, and Valerie smiled. "Thanks for all the help. Think you could show me back to the Company Hall?"

"Sure." said Argen, going outside and removing the flying carpet for them to zip back across town and there.

Once there Valerie said, "Good working with you. I ever need to get around quickly, I'll keep you in mind."

Argen gave a quick little salute, "And if I ever need a one-person siegebreaker, I'll keep you in mind." He punctuated that with a wink.

Valerie grinned and said, "I guess I'll go get this spear appraised, so I know exactly what it can do."

Argen said, "Oh, give it here. I can do it, no charge." He dug out a monocle from his pouch and tucked it into an eye orbit.

Valerie raised her brows, "Really? Thanks again." she handed it over, and Argen stood there for a minute or so, looking it over. Then he offered it back to her.

"Adamantine Javelin, base level magic enchantment, with Adaptation and Distance enhancements. Also got a Greater Returning Weapon Crystal stuck in it, there." he tapped the blue gem embedded in it.

Valerie took it back, "So the crystal's what makes it return to me after it's thrown? What does Distance enhancement do?"

"Doubles its effective range. So I bet you can _really_ hurl that thing."

"Yeah, I bet I could...I'd ask what it's worth, but I think it's safe to say I'm keeping it."

Argen took the monocle off, put it away, "Okay. Well, I'm ready for a hot meal. How about you?"

Sticking the magic spear back in with the others, she said "Sounds good."

The pair made their way to the mess to fill themselves with the evening's fare.


	13. Fires of Rage

A knock sounded upon the door. "Come in." came the crisp voice of the one inside.

Valerie opened it, stooped to look in, "Lieutenant, sir?"

Seated there at a desk was a neatly-groomed male Hobgoblin in a long-sleeved tunic and trousers of uniform cut, bearing the insignia of the Brotherhood upon its left breast. A small plaque on the desktop read 'H. SPINEBREAKER'. He looked up at her after a last few moments of scribing something. "Ah, you're the Troll I've heard about. Bridgewater, is it?"

Valerie entered the office, "Yessir, that's me. They said I should talk to you about joining the brethren."

The Lieutenant placed his quill down and sat back, looking at her meditatively. "Now why should we let you do that?" He then gestured to a large bench there against the wall, "Sit, please."

Valerie was a bit surprised by the question, taking his invitation to settle on the bench. "Well...because I'd be very useful."

"You're useful now, as an associate. Tales are circulating about your single combat exploits. Why would making you a brethren change that?"

"I guess...cos I could work on more jobs?"

"Perhaps. But is that all the Brotherhood is to you? A job?"

Valerie sat there for several moments, then said "Not all. I feel like I belong here, I guess. I know how I was looked at, on the streets of Sigil. And back in that one city, Rookroost. I don't get looked at like that around here."

The Lieutenant looked at her closely, studying her. "Fair enough. You're trying to find your way back to your home plane, is that right?"

Valerie nodded, "I am. I wanna go home, go back to being normal. To do that I need money, and this seems like the only way I'll ever make it at a decent pace."

He looked at her middle, "And you'll have a baby before too much longer. What about its life?"

Valerie rested a hand on her rounded stomach, "Well...I wanna try and avoid anything too dangerous until it's born."

"I see. Part of joining the brethren means you have to put in a minimum of one month's garrison duty. Will you accept the risk that comes with defending our outposts, should it come to that?"

Valerie hesitated, but then nodded, "I do. Or will. Whichever."

"Alright. You need work references proving your value. Can you cite brethren who'd speak for you on that front?"

"Uhm...Argen Redscale, Yena Battlehowl and Paevo. Sorry, I dunno if he has a family name or not."

The Lieutenant made a few quick notes, "Annual dues are five hundred gold or ten months of garrison duty. This is to cover your, ahem...life insurance."

"Insurance?"

"In case you die. Save in the most catastrophic cases, which we generally avoid, it pays for the cost of one resurrection a year."

"Yeah. Okay." That they talked about it so casually, like it really was nothing but insurance, was still very strange to her.

"You'll have to qualify with three basic weapons, as well, but I doubt that'll be a problem."

"What are they?"

"The spear, the dagger and the crossbow. Everyone is expected to know how to use at least that much."

"Okay. Sounds easy enough. Where will I be sent for my required duty?"

"Hmm...we have plenty of recruits on Faerun and Mystara...Clawhold it is."

That suited Valerie just fine, she at least knew a few people there. "When do I start?"

The Lieutenant produced a form, "Tomorrow. Your paperwork, please."

Valerie handed her membership and citizenship forms over, and the Lieutenant went to work. He had her sign, then seal the document. "There you are. Report to your duty station." He handed them back over.

Valerie took them and saluted, "Yessir!" She couldn't help but smile, thinking of years of military films, serious and silly.

A knock sounded at the door, and a small robotic being poked its head inside. Looking to be made from a combination of metal and wood, it wasn't much bigger than the Goblins she'd seen around. "Captain wants to see you, Havrak."

Havrak said, "I'll be along shortly, thank you Breaker." The little robot-thing left.

Valerie stared after as the Lieutenant rose, gathered some papers. He smiled, "Never seen a Warforged before?"

Valerie shook her head, "No. They're all that little?"

Havrak made for the door, and Valerie rose to follow him out, "Most of them are my size. Only a few Scout-sized were made, same with the Titans." Once out in the hall he looked up at her, "I expect great things from you, recruit. Prove me right."

Valerie had to admit, there was something inspiring about his words, the way he carried himself. She saluted him again, "Yessir!" in a more serious fashion. He returned it, and left her to find her way back to her bunk here at the Main Hall in Sigil.

Well, she'd done it. She'd signed on for real. She wasn't locked into serving them like the military back home, but there was bound to be more rules and regulations. She also expected they weren't going to be easy on her that first month. Her Uncle Jason had told her about the hazing they put newbies through in the Army.

Once she gathered her things, she made for the gateway to Midway, showing her new duty assignment papers to the guards. It wasn't long before she was in the familiar halls of Clawhold. A bit of looking around let her find Anrenay, turn over her paperwork.

"Finally joining us for true, eh?" chittered the Ettercap. "Good, we could use a strong fighter like you. Especially one that saves me the trouble of putting you back together between fights. Someone will be around to kick open your door and yell at you in the morning. Until then, enjoy your last free day for a month."

Valerie stowed away her gear, settled in to relax for a time before lunch, and after the meal went out into the yard, practiced throwing her new enchanted javelin. Just to see, she launched it almost straight up and was surprised how far it flew before reappearing in her hand. A quarter-mile, at least!

Dinnertime arrived, and afterwards she made for bed, wanting to be well-rested. Just as well, for she was rudely awakened, as Anrenay had said, by someone yelling at her to get off her lazy arse and get moving. She was hustled outside into the pre-dawn coolness for calisthenics.

It wasn't particularly difficult, just a shock from being left alone most of the time. From there she was set to helping do grunt work, lifting and hauling equipment around, her hunger growing until it was nearly time for breakfast to be over. Then they were led to the mess, to much jeers and catcalls from the brethren while they hustled to get something to eat.

Valerie was more annoyed at being made to wait for food than hearing them ride her and the handful of other recruits. Once the meal was done, it was back to manual labor. Cleaning up the stables, until near time for lunch to be over. Then another rushed meal, before back out and to afternoon drill.

There she engaged in practice with the weapons they expected all Company members to use. For her, it felt more like being reminded how than actually learning. She was working the spear and dagger easily within an hour, using the crossbows neatly within a second. The little bow felt rather pointless to her, she could throw faster, harder and further than she could shoot. But this was what it took.

Eventually they were all hauled in for dinner, again late, then cut loose to their own time. Valerie was more tired than she'd expected, but it wasn't as bad as she'd feared it might be. She took to her rest, and the next day, the cycle repeated. Roughly half the day devoted to doing dirty, boring, unpleasant tasks, the rest to training.

A week passed, then two. The daily routine was endured, even if the training segment was dull and boring for her. By the third week, they were joining in on watch duty, learning how to signal for danger, approaching riders and the like. Into the fourth week, they were taken out on a patrol of the surrounding land, a three-day circuit to sweep to the west, south and back, then a second three-day circuit west, north and back.

They were with seasoned Company members, who rode more than their horses that trip. Every menial task, real or fabricated, was given to them. Even though Valerie was significantly larger than most of them, she wasn't free of the harassment either. A few dirty looks got passed, but she did as she was told, since this was all part of it.

No danger presented itself, and after they returned, on their last day they were given light duty before the evening, when there was more of a feast than usual in the mess, in honor of their newest brethren. Valerie felt a certain pride at having endured what was required, to be welcomed into their company as a full and equal member.

The next day she received her new membership papers and settled her yearly dues. Free of the enforced schedule, she began training with Comar again, developing her familiarity with other commonplace weapons and armor further, practicing the power-accuracy trade technique he'd mentioned as well.

It was later that day a message arrived from Sigil. Gneissminer had been working on the research, as promised, and had so far found no reference to any sort of plane or world called Earth. Oftentimes, he said, a world might become unobservable due to changes in planar geography. He would have to search deeper into the Society's records.

That at least offered some hope. It could be Earth had become...disassociated with the planes of this universe and was only recently becoming a possible travel destination again. It didn't solve the problem of getting back there, but it was a start. Now that she was reasonably sure she would be here until after her baby was born, she needed to be ready for that day. While Onyx himself wasn't available, other divine spellcasters were about.

One, a female Hobgoblin serving a goddess called Erathis, who apparently concerned herself with civilization, was happy to check up on her and confirmed the baby seemed to be developing normally. By her guess, Valerie would be ready to deliver in around three more months.

Since Valerie hadn't gotten any taller in over a month and a half, she assumed that meant no more growth spurts, so a three-month timeframe was likely. At least for now, her plans were to alternate between Clawhold and Sigil as needed. She more or less had quarters to herself in either location, as giant-sized bunks saw little use. It wasn't just a question of things like baby clothing or furniture. If she was going to work, she had to have someone to watch her child.

She hadn't seen any sort of nursery around, so presumed the other female members of the Company, where they had children, kept private caretakers for them, or else had family. Valerie wasn't sure who she'd trust watching over a baby Troll, much less who might want to. Then a thought occurred to her. Regina. Perhaps she might welcome a change of career? It wouldn't hurt to ask.

Now that she was one of the brethren, she could travel freely through Midway, so returning to Sigil was just a matter of passing the checkpoints. Once there she left a message for Regina at the gate. Hopefully the young were-rat was still checking in on her.

And sure enough, she was. Valerie found her outside waiting the next morning, and smiled at the way she bounced up and down, waving at the sight of her. "Hoy! Miz Valerie!"

Valerie approached, and Regina beamed up at her, "Has ya been keepin' well, Miz Valerie?"

"I have. It's good to see you again, Regina."

"Likewise, likewise! Needin' a hand around the city again, are yas?"

"That and more. As you can see, the day's coming where my baby'll be born."

"An' all blessin's for yas on that day, Miz Valerie! But what's that got t'do with me?"

"Well, once my baby's born, if I'm gonna keep working, I need someone to watch over him - or her - and I was wondering if you might like the job."

Regina's eyes widened, "Me?? B-but...why me?"

Valerie smiled, "Because I feel like I can trust you. I know that might sound a little silly, but...I do."

Regina rubbed at the back of her head, "Well...I guess maybe I could. I helped look after my lil cousins before. Is baby Trolls like other babies? Feedin', changin', all that?"

Valerie gave a laugh, "I'm not entirely sure myself. But I promise it'll be a steady job. How does fifty gold a month sound? All I need is for you to follow me around wherever I have to go for work. The Company lets family travel with its members, and since I'm a full member now, I'd say my baby's caretaker would count." She added, "In the meantime, I could still use a guide. There's things I want to do while I wait for my child to arrive, and they involve getting around in this maze of a city. I'll pay you the same rate, too."

Regina seemed unsure about the job offer caring for the baby, but said "I'll take yas anywhere ya wants t'go, Miz Valerie."

Valerie paid her then and there with a trade bar, and said "I need to visit some sages. I know so little about this universe and I want to learn what I can."

"Right y'are!" chirped Regina, and the pair were off to wander the streets, visiting the offices of numerous men and women of learning. While they were surprised to find a Troll on their doorstep, those who accepted her call long enough to speak to her helped her out in finding who might be willing to tutor her, lend her access to their libraries. She was willing to pay and pay well for their services, so it wasn't long before she had a likely list of instructors.

It took her several days to track down and meet with the various experts, but she soon had a schedule of instruction worked out. Six different experts on the subjects of arcane lore, divine lore, planar lore, natural lore, unnatural lore and historical lore were enlisted, each to spend an hour a day in lecture and guided self-education. She arranged it so she'd have time to move between them all comfortably as well as take breaks for meals and have time for other activities.

Once that had been worked out, it was back to school for Valerie. The days rolled by as she studied about magic and its various schools, magical creatures and beings like dragons, learned of the various pantheons of gods, the different planes of the universe and their histories, the beings that dwelt upon them. She studied the natural world as well as the aberrant creatures that lived within it, along with a general history and culture of the humanoid races, civilized and savage both.

She learned of the creation of the universe, of the Dawn War between the chaotic Primordial beings and the Gods who arose in opposition to their constant cycle of creation and destruction. She studied the formation of the Nine Hells and its politics, the myriad layers of the Abyss and its shifting conflicts between the Demon Princes. She learned of the beginnings of the Blood War, and other players in the conflict such as the Yugoloths, or daemons.

She studied the history of Oerth and Toril, their gods and the rise and fall of the many, many kingdoms or empires upon them, learned of the lands of Mystara and the Immortals set above them, of the worlds of Krynn, Eberron, Rokugan, even the mysterious burnt-out wreck known as Athas.

She learned of the Unification, the massive shift in the geography of the Prime Material Plane from its separate Crystal Spheres floating within a great rainbow-colored ocean of flammable gas called phlogiston to the single great plane of today. Of theories that it began somewhere deep in the Ethereal Plane, but no concrete explanation how or why.

And she came to understand much of the plants and animals dwelling across them all, both above and below ground, of the fey and giantkin, and the aberrant creatures that lurked in all corners of the universe. During the course of it all, she became fully literate in both the Giant and Celestial tongues as well as the Common tongue. The more she learned, the more she realized how many lifetimes it would take to truly understand it all.

By the end of her first month of study, Gneissminer contacted her again. He had located references to Earth, at last! It seemed to be, or at least at one time was, a parallel world to Oerth. It wasn't the only one, though records on them beyond their names were still outside his reach. The others were Uerth, Aerth and Yarth.

As she came to the close of her second month of study, now waddling around with considerably less speed and agility than she once did, he contacted her once more. The earliest records of these worlds he could find were in the histories of a legendary adventuring group called the Company of Seven, who had lived over three hundred years ago.

They were said to have become immortal, and in fact their leader, a mage named Zagyg, had ascended to full godhood, though he was considered to be rather insane. According to their history, they had traveled to these strange worlds, though exactly how was not recorded. Of their number, none had been seen in ages. It was suspected they traveled anonymously, if they still traveled at all.

As to the worlds themselves, no other scholarly record of them existed going back a hundred years, so at the least travel to them had become restricted, as it was to worlds like Krynn and Eberron, if not all but interdicted, as it was with Athas. And after the Unification, who could say what pathways lurked?

Inquiring after the Company of Seven provided her with more information on them, though most shocking was when she saw a picture of Murlynd, who was said to be a paladin in service to the god Heironeous. He looked exactly like a Wild West cowboy! Right down to the hat, the poncho, even what looked like an old revolver in his hand!

According to legend, he'd become enamored of the dress and weapons used on some strange plane they'd visited, and kept to that style since. Furthermore, the sage she consulted with said in recent years a few had begun emulating him with the smokepowder weapons that had been invented following the Godswar on Toril. Though such devices didn't function on Oerth, elsewhere in the Primes and planes the so-called Order of the Silver Star carried out their holy crusade with gun in hand.

Trying to ask Zagyg for answers would likely prove frustrating, given his reputation for madness and comedic behavior. But perhaps some records of their research might be found elsewhere. She enlisted the help of other sages to travel to well-known repositories of learning. The Great Library of Candlekeep, the Vault of the Sages in Silverymoon, the Universities of Greyhawk and the Flanaess.

As she continued her education while waiting, new growth began on her body, but not in her height or her stomach. Her breasts started to develop in preparation for the arrival of her child. When the time grew close, Regina finally agreed to take on the job of helping with the baby when Valerie needed her. She quite liked working for Valerie on a steady salary, and had used the income to improve the lot of her family.

Word came back from her researchers that little could be found relating to planar travel directions in records of the Company of Seven or any work done on their writings. Only indication that attempting to scry upon these other worlds was varyingly difficult, and that no attempt seemed to have worked for over a hundred years, nor were any current attempts.

From their descriptions, the other worlds favored Oerth to varying degrees, mostly differing in the presence and power of magic. Only Earth was strikingly different, and what Valerie read of it sounded like a visit to some sort of frontier town in the Old American West. The only record of anywhere that she might try to find anything related to them was Castle Greyhawk. And according to recent history, it had disappeared over ten years ago. Stories claimed it appeared at random across the planes, but that was all.

Of those who had explored the castle, two names stood out. Mordenkainen, a famous mage, and Lord Robilar, a warrior of some renown. How to contact either of them was beyond her, though. Mordenkainen was said to be very aloof and disconnected from all but a small group of like-minded spellcasters called the Circle of Eight, while Lord Robilar wandered far and wide at his whims. Some said Robilar was a monster in service to a wizard known as Rary the Traitor, others claimed that was an imposter of some kind.

By this point, her baby was due any day, so Valerie put a stop to her studies to make sure she was ready. She purchased supplies for its care, clothing and food, and made sure to stay close to Company facilities. She was nervous and excited, knowing her life was about to change yet again, but she'd made peace with the idea of having a Troll child. And especially if she could still find a way home within a year or so after it was born, it wouldn't remember being a little green monster.

By now, the six-month Oeridian summer was over and its two-month autumn was drawing to a close. There in the Bluff Hills where Clawhold stood, snow had already begun to fall. Just small drifts that vanished in a few days, but all who'd been there swore the real snow was on its way. Valerie never minded the snow, though she didn't care to drive in it back home. And so it was, on the twenty-first day of Ready'reat, eleventh month of the year, that the event she'd been anticipating came to pass.

She'd felt cramps and spasms before, her body preparing for birth, but this was far stronger. She rose and waddled to the medical quarters, making it to the door before she felt something burst inside and a gush of fluid leave her body. That was it, her water had broken. They got her inside and laid out as comfortably as they could. She wasn't the first female to give birth on Company grounds, but so far as they knew, she was the only Troll.

Nervous and anxious now, she tried to stay calm, be patient, wincing and growling as the contractions kept coming. The medics verified everything was proceeding normally, and soon she was being visited by her friends among The Claw, as well as Yena, Paevo and of course Regina. All offered words of encouragement and support, though it was Regina and Yena who kept close to her.

As the day wore on, the contractions grew in frequency, until the time arrived for her to begin pushing. She felt stretched in ways she didn't think possible, flashes of nightmarish recollection from the time she was imprisoned, violated returning in wake of the pain. But assurance from the midwife and her friends kept her from panicking. It wasn't long after that the lump in her stomach moved down through her groin, and with a final stretching, straining compression of muscle, exited her body at last.

Covered in the effluvia of birth, the squirming, pale green form was quickly wrapped in a soft blanket, made certain to be breathing, and gave forth its first raspy cry of life. That was it. Her baby. Her child. Tears of relief and joy fell from her eyes as she laughed, and took it up into her arms. Already it seemed as big as a human toddler, if not larger.

Yellow eyes turned this way and that as it wriggled in the cradle of her arm. The smell of it wafted to her, and she knew: she had a son. She smiled, proudly, and said softly, "Hello, little one. Hello, Harold." She'd long since decided to name it after her parents. Had it been a girl, she'd have named it Donna.

She lay back to rest, exhausted from the ordeal, even though her body was quickly recuperating from the stretching it had undergone. The pain vanished moments after she passed the afterbirth, her stomach tightening right back up. Only the swell of her breasts was any sign of her new motherly status.

Her friends came around to visit again, meet Harold. Even Durlob popped in to get a closer look at the baby. Some time after, she fell asleep, the baby passed to Regina. She awoke again, when Harold started to cry, and fed her son for the first time, again crying to feel that familial bond.

She quickly learned how precious a commodity sleep was, for Harold only slept when he felt like it. Thankfully, it seemed baby Trolls didn't have any more need for eliminating waste than adults did, so she was spared changing diapers. She just kept a simple loose gown on him, save when she gently bathed him. But he cried when he was hungry, he cried when he wanted to be near her, it seemed even he cried just because she had fallen asleep.

But he seemed quite healthy, he certainly nursed all he could and Valerie gave all she could. She started to wonder if she'd become part milk cow after the first week. But then Harold started crying for an all-new set of reasons: his teeth were beginning to grow in. His claws were still blunt little stubby things, hardly dangerous at all. His teeth were an entirely different matter. They were every bit as sharp as Valerie's own.

By the end of the second week, he had a mouthful of razor-sharp fangs just like his mother, which made his otherwise innocent babyish smile rather disconcerting. But that was a sign he was ready to try a more traditional diet, and so in his third week of life Harold began to eat the same meat Valerie did. And quite a share of it, too!

He still liked for her to hold him, though he'd accept his 'Auntie Gina' almost as readily. Regina seemed to take to him well, and as the need for Valerie's milk slacked off, her breasts quickly dried up and shrunk back to the flat, masculine planes she'd known. She wasn't sure if she was sad to see them go, or glad. Either way, she had her figure back, such as it was. Now that she felt more confident in letting Regina look after him, she set to training hard, making up for lost time.

It was also time to gear herself up more properly for the work that lay ahead. If she was going to keep pursuing the Company of Seven, or Castle Greyhawk, she was going to need money. Not to mention what it would cost to return to human form for herself and Harold both!

While she'd gotten used to the loose toga garment she'd worn for so long, the need for it was gone. She was grown, and no longer bearing a child in her. It was time to get some more proper outfitting. She began with a new undershirt, a short-sleeved tunic to wear under her mithril chainmail. To that she added a sturdy leather kilt, upon which she could keep her equipment pouches.

A sturdy fur-lined hooded cloak came next, along with new outdoor equipment, properly sized for her. She also made certain to purchase for herself Everlasting Rations and an Everlasting Waterskin, along with an enchanted backpack that would hold everything without weighing her down. Looking at herself once she was resupplied, it was hard to think the tough, determined-looking Troll staring back at her had once been human. She could only hope she and her son might be human again, home with the rest of her blood relatives.

Harold was a month old now, and it was just a week to go before the end of the Oeridian year. The Faerunian calendar wasn't far behind in rolling over, though she paid it little mind. She knew of the company's holdings there, based out of the underground free port of the great city of Waterdeep known as Skullport. One lay at Dark Arrow Keep, far to the north, while the other lay in another port city called Murann, to the south. Each outpost was at the center of a so-called 'savage civilization', the Kingdom of Many Arrows and the Empire of Sothilis, respectively.

She also knew of their holding on Mystara, in the underground city of Oenkhmar, center of the Broken Lands, a region populated almost exclusively by savage humanoids. From their borders the various races launched raids upon the civilized lands surrounding them, as well as one another from time to time. The Company did a lot of recruiting there to keep their ranks strong when fighting grew intense in a given region.

But Clawhold felt more like home to her. So in looking for work, she began there. Unfortunately, now that winter was here, not much was going on. Even Iuz's forces didn't much care for braving the frozen north, nor did the people of Stonefist. The Pale Crusade had wound down, and the Bandit Kingdoms were quiet, likely to remain so until spring.

Checking in at Sigil, she didn't see much of interest there. She could always hire on with a Mercane trading mission, but that was a better-than-nothing prospect. Then she caught sight of a notice from Murann. A group of Company associates had gone missing, with a bounty posted for their recovery. A thousand gold to find four dead people sounded like it had promise.

Valerie returned to Clawhold and informed Regina of her intention to check up on the job. "If I'm not back in a couple of days, come on over to Murann and wait for me."

Regina smiled, "As ya say, Miz Valerie." She looked at Harold and said, "Hear that? Mummy's goin' to work. Give her a big kiss for luck!"

Valerie took her squirming baby boy up in her hands, held him for several moments as he gurgled and cooed in his gruff way, then returned him to Regina. She left their quarters and returned to Midway, before following an escort to the Toril portal landing. Once through she found herself in a room guarded by four Iron Golems, each pair watching over a short hallway connecting to another set of portal entrances.

Directed to the Murann gate, she made her way through, then out into the grounds of the Company garrison. The smell of the sea was a welcome change of pace, the air cold but not quite as frigid as it was at Clawhold. Snow was still on the ground, but it wasn't feet thick as it tended to be there in the northern parts of Oerik. She noted as well the fact she hadn't had to stoop to get out the door. Things were built closer to a giant's scale around here.

A quick query of the guard pointed her in the direction of the commander's office. Across the courtyard, she could see nothing of the city past the fortified stone walls. She did notice she wasn't the only giant about. A few Ogres were present, as well as a pair of Hill Giants. She entered the central building, pleased at being able to just walk in and not hunch down. Within she met a being of a race she'd learned of in her studies.

It, or rather she, was a reptilian humanoid, a little over five feet tall, with dark brown scales tending to yellow on the underside of her snakelike snout and front of her torso. Large yellow eyes regarded her with polite curiosity, while from the back of her head two long fins dangled, in a way that reminded her of that annoying alien from the Star Wars prequels. Besides the fins, there were subtle curves of feminine design to her hips indicating her gender, a sleek tail emerging from her posterior. She was one of the Sar'ik, a people found on the continent of Abeir.

She wore a yellow sarong-style skirt and loose toga-like top, carried a spear on her back and had wrapped around her neck and shoulders what looked like a bat-winged snake of some kind. The serpentine creature raised its head and flicked its tongue lazily in her direction.

Valerie gave her a polite nod of greeting, and it was returned. Before they could speak, however, an orc appeared and said to the Sar'ik, "Lieutenant will see you now." She left to follow him, while Valerie looked around at the walls, war banners taken as trophies hanging here and there. She didn't recognize any of the heraldry, but they afforded distraction until the orc returned. "What you here for?"

Valerie looked at him, "I'm here about the bounty on missing Company members."

The orc grunted, "Huh, 'nother one. Okay." He ambled off. A minute later he returned, "Lieutenant says you come now too."

Valerie followed him back to an office where, seated at a scaled-up desk, she saw a tall, grey-skinned figure she recognized to be a Stone Giant. He was about eye-level to her in his current position; standing he'd be twelve feet. His brows arched to see her enter, but he nodded to her.

Remembering protocol, Valerie saluted, and it was returned. The Sar'ik female sat there nearby in a chair that made her look like a child, sent to the principal's office. The orc saluted and left, as the giant spoke. "Welcome to Murann. I'm Menhir, and this is Linn." he gestured to the Sar'ik.

Valerie nodded to the reptilian woman, "Hey. I'm Valerie Bridgewater." she said to the two of them.

"Hello." said Linn in a soft, faintly sibilant voice.

Menhir said, "I was just telling her what we know about the missing group. Let me catch you up." He cleared his throat, "About a month ago word came in from the Imperials that two of their watch towers in the Small Teeth Mountains north of here had been razed, and a mining operation nearby shut down. They put a bounty on those responsible, but not many wanted to go crawling through snowy hills and valleys looking for them."

"The job sat unclaimed for almost a week before a group of associates came around asking about it. The four of them set out on foot, and haven't been heard from since. They were an Ogre, a Goblin, a Drow and a Thri-Kreen. The Ogre's name is Hort Boulderfist. I don't recall the others, but try asking around. It's two hundred and fifty gold for each one you recover."

Linn spoke up, "What about the bounty they were after?"

Menhir replied, "It's five hundred gold a head for those behind the attacks."

"Anything you can tell us about them?" asked Valerie.

"Reports say large beings clawed into stone like it was soft earth, bodies ripped in half, signs of being bitten, in some cases partly eaten by something with huge teeth."

"How far apart were these attacks? And how much time between?" asked Linn.

"The towers are roughly thirty miles apart, the mine in question was around ten miles south from the easterly tower. As far as we know, they were all attacked around the same time."

"Was anything stolen from the mines?"

"Records don't say. Both the towers and the mining camp were burnt out, so there's no way to know without consulting the dead."

That was an idea Valerie still struggled to accept. That you could communicate with spirits of the dead for information. She asked, "What kind of forces did they have at the towers and the mine?"

Menhir replied, "Standard Imperial troops. Goblinoids and Kobolds reinforced by Ogres and Hill Giants. No Ogre Magi were present."

"And no sign of any enemy dead?"

"None."

"How did word get back to the Empire about this in the first place?"

"They employ a small cadre of aerial couriers to resupply the watch towers and relay news. Of course, it had been several days by the time they saw the result."

Neither Valerie nor Linn had further questions at that point, so Menhir asked "Will you pursue the bounty? Or bounties?"

Valerie said, "I'd like to, but I'm not sure where to start. I don't much like the idea of crawling all over snow-covered mountains either."

Linn spoke up, "If you'll share in the bounty with me, I can handle transportation. And support you in battle, if need be."

"How so?" asked Valerie.

"I'll work to scry out their location, our dead associates and the attackers both. Then ferry us both there."

Valerie nodded, "Okay. Then I guess we'll take the job."

Menhir nodded as well, "I just hope we don't have to send someone after the two of you."

Valerie smirked, "I doubt it'll come to that." She looked at Linn, "Ready to go?"

The Sar'ik rose to her feet and gave a curt nod, then saluted Menhir. Valerie followed suit, and the Stone Giant returned it. "Good hunting." he bade them, before the two exited.

Once outside Valerie asked, "So how do we get...wherever? Carpet?"

Linn smiled, "No. We'll ride on Gore-Dan." She reached to the snake around her neck, stroked a clawed finger under its chin, which the little serpent apparently liked.

"I didn't think familiars could do that."

"Oh, Gore-Dan isn't a familiar. He's an eidolon. I'm a Summoner."

"Oh." Valerie had heard of them, arcane spellcasters that formed strong bonds with outsider spirits, molded them into all manner of fantastic shapes to suit their purposes. "So what is he, travel-sized or something?"

Linn nodded, "That's right. Come, let's ask around, see if anyone knows more of the dead. Particularly, any items that might've belonged to them."

Valerie nodded, and the two went about those present, making inquiries. They wound up at the garrison's common room, where the barkeep produced a large silver tankard he claimed was favored by Hort. "Had a habit o' puttin' it in hock when he lost at Harrower's Fate." At Linn's request to borrow it in order to find the owner, the barkeep agreed once she handed over some coin as insurance.

With the tankard in hand, Linn led Valerie to a quiet area of the garrison quarters and settled down to begin casting her scrying spell. A well-made mirror was produced from her backpack and held in her lap while she closed her eyes and began chanting softly, waving her hands over it.

This went on for several minutes, until at last a glow surrounded the mirror, and the pair gazed into it. A darkened cave was visible, and what seemed like a pile of bones. "Well, that's useful..." came Valerie's sarcastic remark.

Linn gave a shrug, "It's hit-and-miss. At least now we know his location." Packing the mirror away, she rose. "Let's get airborne."

Back outside, Linn prodded Gore-Dan, who collected himself and slid off her shoulder, opening his wings and gliding a short distance away. Suddenly, he grew at least twenty times his size, coiling around and rearing up, wings shadowing the two of them. Valerie jumped, "Jesus!" she swore, suddenly confronted with the massive serpent.

Linn smiled and approached, "That's my big handsome boy." The eidolon lowered himself back down as she scratched at the side of his head. She then reached into her pack again to remove a doll-sized saddle, much like the one Valerie had seen Cedric use on his Wyvern. At Linn's behest, Gore-Dan stretched forward, and she reached up, tossing the saddle into the air. As it fell, it grew rapidly in size as well, until it was much larger than she needed. It landed upon the eidolon's back, attaching itself automatically.

"Isn't that too big for you?" asked Valerie.

"Of course. Because it's for you. Climb on." Linn moved up closer to the front, climbed up onto Gore-Dan just behind his head.

Valerie did as instructed, finding the stirrup and getting her big clawed foot in, swinging herself up into the seat. Settling against the high-backed rest, she discovered an anchor strap, got it into place around her midsection. "Okay, I'm ready." she called.

Linn gave a look back at her, then turned forward again, "Alright. Hang on!" The great serpent spread his wings, and with a coiling of his body, sprung forward and up, beating against the air and taking to the sky with surprising speed. Valerie gave a cry of alarm at the much rougher take-off, while Linn whooped with delight, her headfins caught in the breeze.

They climbed quickly, before starting to bank and turn. Below, Valerie could see that the company garrison was built up on a cliffside overlooking the port city below. The ships and their harbor, with the bay beyond, the town sprawling around in the morning sunshine, were all quite spectacular to see from above. She might've enjoyed it more had she not been trying to choke the proverbial life out of the saddlehorn.

Once they leveled off, the ride got smoother, though there was a rolling rise and fall to the winged serpent's movements, a constant rocking that was foreign to her. She'd never been interested in riding on horseback or any such thing, not even as a child. So this felt unstable, compared to the steady level flight of the magic carpets. Still, they were moving at a good clip, though not as fast as the carpets could do in a straight line. It took her a while, but she started to relax as she saw they weren't going to fall to their doom.

"We should make it to the general area sometime in the early evening." called Linn.

"Great!" replied Valerie in a strained tone that suggested it was anything but for her.

"Not much for flying?"

"Well, not on...animal-back!"

Linn just laughed, "And here I was hoping I'd get to show you some of Gore-Dan's acrobatics!"

Valerie practically squeaked as she said, "Please don't!"

Thankfully, the Sar'ik kept her eidolon on a steady course, and once they'd been at it for a couple of hours, Valerie started to get used to it. The saddle was plenty sturdy, and she could relax against it instead of worrying about keeping her balance all the time like on a flying carpet. The rolling, rocking motion still felt odd, but she kept herself as distracted as she could watching the countryside roll by.

Snow-covered hills with sparse forest were the dominant vista, while ahead she could see the peaks of the mountains growing closer. After some time she grew hungry, and seeing Linn work at travel rations and water she did the same, though a bit awkwardly. Fortunately she didn't drop anything. She did ask, "Doesn't...Gore-Dan need to rest? Eat and drink?"

"No, he'll be fine. Eidolon don't need to eat and drink like we mortal creatures do, and we're not going so fast that he'll tire out before we get there."

Midday turned to afternoon as they rode northeast into the foothills, and then the Small Teeth themselves. Twisting around between the high peaks, Valerie said, "Don't we have to worry about crashing into the mountainside?"

"I'd be more worried about Iryklathagra showing up."

"Who's that?"

"Very old, very powerful Blue Dragon who lairs in these mountains." said Linn diffidently.

"Here in the snow? I thought Blue Dragons liked the desert!"

"And all Trolls are brainless oafs?"

"Hm. Good point. But shouldn't we be more careful?"

Linn laughed, "Relax. Sharpfangs spends most of her time asleep. She hasn't been seen on the wing in over a decade. Though the last time she did take flight she destroyed one of the Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse and razed over the city of Calimport."

"Oh yeah, just day-to-day for an old, powerful dragon."

"I expect she's more concerned with the coming Twilight. She's nearly thirteen hundred years old."

Valerie knew dragons that old were immensely big and powerful. But exactly how long they lived she was unsure of. "That's when they start to die, right?"

"Aye, though a Blue like her could survive another millennia or so. Still, it's something a wise wyrm considers well before they reach it."

Valerie had to smirk as she thought of dragons investing their hoards into 401(k) programs for retirement, settling down to garden and yell at adventurers to keep off their lawn.

The afternoon wore on, the sun heading for the horizon when at last Linn brought Gore-Dan into a hover. "We're above the site of Hort's remains now."

Looking around, all Valerie saw was snow-covered cliffside and scrubby evergreens. Linn brought Gore-Dan down over the nearest slope, and the great serpent reared before a gout of flame burst from his mouth, turning a swath of the snow to steam in an instant and the rest to dampness.

Valerie gave a cry of alarm to see that, but it served to reveal what was beneath the snow: naught but rock.

"I had a feeling this would be the case." murmured Linn, spurring Gore-Dan into motion. "Ware any cave mouths, they could be the way down into the mountain where his remains no doubt lie." she called back to Valerie.

Valerie gave her a wave of recognition, and they flew around the slopes. After several minutes, they spied a small crevasse, but a quick inspection showed it was much too small to be the way in. Airborne again, they came across another larger cave, but again, not large enough to go very deep. Valerie thought of her mountain excursion in the Beastlands, how glad she'd been to find the dead whatever-it-was and recover its equipment. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Further down and around the mountainside they flew. A few other shallow caves were inspected, until at last they came to not one but two caves, up a sloping valley draw, with larger entrances. Flying down to land, a cursory inspection showed they were both considerably deeper. "Where to first?" asked Valerie.

"I propose we each search one. When we finish, we return to the entrance and await the other. If either of us fails to return by nightfall, we go in after the other." replied Linn.

Valerie nodded, "Okay, sounds fair." She pointed to the lower one, "I'll take this one."

Linn had Gore-Dan shrink down, recovered the saddle, then took her spear in hand. She waved it at Gore-Dan, and the serpentine creature's form wavered, blurring and twisting, until it had been replaced by a large, squat quadrupedal reptilian beast, heavily armored, with wickedly sharp burrowing claws and an impressive maw of razor fangs. A stumpy tail and short horns completed the effect. It gave a low crocodilian rumbling.

Valerie raised her brows, "That's a useful trick."

Linn patted her eidolon's side, "Just the thing for crawling about underground." She made for the upper cave entrance and gave a last wave, "Good hunting." before she entered behind Gore-Dan.

Valerie returned it, "You too." and faced the cave mouth before her. She took a deep breath, gave herself a thorough stretch and shake-off, then plunged into the gloom beyond. The ceiling was close, but still high enough she could walk without bumping her head. The path sloped down, curving to one side, the cold of the still air folding around her.

Delving deeper, the air started to get warmer, with hints of a smoky odor not unlike what she knew from her time in Sigil. As it almost grew to a pleasant temperature, ahead she spotted a large rock, barring further travel. Stopping to look it over, she saw marks on the floor that seemed to indicate something being drug against it. The rock?

Getting to one side, she braced herself, dug her fingers in against, and heaved. It budged, only slightly. It took her a couple of minutes' worth of grunting and straining, but she eventually pushed it aside enough to see beyond. The flicker of continual flame torches, their distinctive blue glow, met her eye and she smiled. "Bingo."

Slipping through, she saw that this was no cave. The walls were neatly sculpted, same with the ceiling and floors, smooth and perfectly level. This had been built on a giant scale, a central hallway leading deeper into the mountain. Besides sconces for the torches, she saw no sign of decoration. The heat was greater in here, a comfortable warmth, welcome after the frigid chill outside.

As she began moving through the hall, ahead she heard the sound of movement, something scraping against the stone alongside the rattling of metal on metal. With nowhere to run or hide, she stood fast, ready to receive whatever danger approached.

From around a corner, they appeared. It was a pack of Trolls, four in number, with a great black-skinned, red-haired giant behind them, what she recognized as a Fire Giant. The Trolls, though, were not ordinary. She saw in their skin black plates of metal, seemingly fused into their flesh, along their limbs, on their chests, even on the tops of their heads. Blood oozed around the edges of the implants. Their fingers had been replaced at the tips by wicked, sawlike blades, and their teeth reminded her of a great beartrap. A seething raging madness shone in their eyes as they saw her.

The Giant saw her, and sneered derisively, hefting his greatsword on his shoulder. He pointed at her, shouted in their language "Destroy the intruder!" With a series of bellowing cries, the Trolls surged forward, slowed by the metal dug into their flesh, but with no less murderous intent for their hobbled movement. Meanwhile the giant reached to a pouch at his side, whipped out a good-sized rock. Inscribed bracers on his plate-armored forearms suddenly glowed with molten runes, and the rock turned orange-hot as he brought his arm back and whipped it at her.

The burning-hot projectile was turned aside by her armor, and the Giant wasted no time in whipping two more quickly in her direction. Neither one managed to get past her defense. With these surgically altered Trolls blocking her path, she had little choice but to engage them first. Digging inside, she let loose her fury and charged forward, lashing out at the central Troll in their pack. Her claws dug deep, as one of the Trolls circled to the side so they could all surround her.

She threw her hand out, catching a lucky opening, halfway tearing the Troll's throat out as it came in. But it and the other three all threw themselves at her, metal claws and teeth slashing and gnashing. Yet for all their fury, none of them could wound her. The Giant gave a fresh series of hurled rocks, catching her with one. She hissed in pain as the heated missile seared at her skin, but she began to heal nonetheless, which surprised the Giant, to see even fire couldn't stop her.

She gave forth a roar of her own as she tore into the first Troll she'd attacked, tearing its guts open, then wheeled on the one whose throat she'd nearly taken out. In her fury, she landed one blow, but the other failed to get past its plated hide. It was staggered, though, giving her the chance to lunge in and tear its shoulder with her teeth. It faltered, dropped over, started to go unconscious, but then snapped awake once more, eyes defiant, even if it couldn't muster the will to get its feet under it again just yet.

The remaining two active Trolls came at her, one managing to dig into her with its claws and teeth, giving her a modest wound. It tore into her easily enough, which made her wonder if it was adamantine they'd...modified these Trolls with. That would have to wait, though, as more burning-hot rocks came flying her way from the Giant. Only one struck a telling blow, as Valerie turned her attention to a third Troll.

Her claws shredded its guts, but still it stood, wavering on the edge. A last furious uppercutting swipe, and she tore...its...face...off. A ruined mess of blood, bone and metal spilled onto the floor as it fell. She lashed out again at the fourth Troll, her claws skittering against its hide, but her teeth found purchase, dealing a savage wound that left it reeling from the pain.

The second Troll she'd downed tried to rise up, lunge at her, but she turned to swat down and put it out cold, properly this time. But that was the problem. Even the Troll who'd gotten its face ripped off was regenerating. Eventually they would all get back up. But she couldn't worry about that right now, as she still had the remaining Troll and the Giant to deal with, the latter of whom failed to strike her with a new volley of projectiles.

Turning on the Troll, three fast claw strikes and a tearing pull sent it to the floor with the other in a spray of gore. "You're next!" she roared at the Giant in their shared tongue. The ten-foot Dwarflike being responded only by taking its greatsword in both hands, preparing to meet her advance. Valerie obliged him, coming forward into his swinging blade, surprised when they each missed the other in their initial attacks.

She took a blow from his follow-up series of strikes, but it was nothing compared to her own assault, which rocked the Giant back on its heels, leaving it reeling, unable to respond. Latching on with her claws, she tore his neck open, staining his black plate armor red with blood, leaving him to topple to the floor. Behind her, she heard a scrape and a growl, and she turned to see the first Troll she'd downed back on its feet, ready for more.

She rushed in, swatting it to the ground again with her claws, then proceeded to attack the other two who hadn't had their faces ripped off, making sure they were still down. Then as her rage fled her, she set to eviscerating all four of them, making sure they weren't getting up anytime soon.

Her foes dispatched, she began exploring the next hall, where this group had come from. Side-chambers, empty, were seen along the first half of its two hundred or so feet. Then a low hissing noise drew her attention to another, wherein she felt a wave of heat upon approaching its entrance. Inside, the orange-yellow glow of molten rock greeted her eye. Roughly half of the room's thirty-foot square space was some sort of lava pit!

Seeing that, she turned back to the dead trolls. This would dispatch them, or at the least keep them down indefinitely. Making sure they were still down with a fresh gutting, she dragged their bodies around and tossed them all into the fiery slurry. Turning to leave the room, a sudden deafening roar filled the air as a pressure wave threw her off her feet into the hall. Dazed but otherwise unhurt, ears ringing, she got to her feet and looked back in shock.

Globs of lava clung here and there to the walls, along with twisted chunks of metal from what could have only been the explosion of the Trolls' corpses. "Jesus!" she exclaimed, seeing the scars and pieces left all in the rock. She didn't have long to contemplate it, though, as from down the hall she heard more scrabbles of movement and metallic rattling.

She readied herself for battle as another pack of those armor-fused Trolls came forward, a Fire Giant, this one a female, spurring them on. And further beyond, she saw another pack with a second male Fire Giant behind them. The male pointed, roaring "Tear the intruder apart!" The pack of Trolls he commanded rushed forward past the female, joining the other four in their advance.

With the hall wide enough to let the Trolls advance three to a line, they formed two ranks, with the last pair flanking the female Giant. The male Giant, meantime, was retreating for some reason. Valerie had no time to consider why, she had a swarm of pain-mad Trolls to deal with first. Drawing upon her primal fury, Valerie wasted no time charging their line, going after the center Troll in the first rank. She had no fear of being surrounded; it just made it easier for her to get at her enemies. A powerful swat rocked the Troll, sending it reeling.

From behind the wall of metal-fused Trolls, the female Giant took up rocks, igniting them with the same sort of enchanted bracers the other Giant had, sending them flying her way. None landed a solid blow, while back behind the other Giant disappeared around a corner into another hall. The Trolls began to swarm. While Valerie took a chunk out of one as it maneuvered around, the others soon had her surrounded, metallic claws and teeth flying from all directions. Her exceptional reflexes combined with her rage-hardened skin kept her from harm, however.

Valerie went after her initial target again, tearing its guts open, dropping it and wheeling to attack the other she'd wounded. A chest-opening uppercut swipe was followed by a swift cuff to its face, and it joined the first on the ground. She turned to a third, tearing at it with her teeth, while the female Giant hurled more flaming rocks, one catching her with a minor wound. From back around the distant hall, she heard a sudden clanking, grinding sound, but saw nothing beyond the six Trolls still trying their damnedest to tear her to pieces.

One managed to swat her with its bladed hand, but her regeneration was at work mending it while she went after the third wounded Troll. Another latching, rending attack sent it down, while she followed up with a single claw and bite to a fourth, leaving it temporarily incapacitated. Another volley of burning rocks failed to harm her, while ahead at the end of the hall, she saw the male Giant reappear, the clanking, grinding, rattling noise growing louder. He glanced back down the other hall, and leered at Valerie with anticipation. Whatever was causing the racket, it didn't come into view as she fended off the attacks of the Trolls. The one she'd just downed snapped awake, started to get up, and was put back down while the others lashed and gnashed at her, to no avail.

Pursuing her fourth Troll, Valerie swatted its head, leaving it wide open for a sudden thrust right through its chest, impaling it on her arm and tearing out gobbets to splash against the wall. She went after a fifth, clawing and biting at it for fresh wounds, leaving it reeling. Down the hall, the male Giant shouted "One side! One side!" and waved his arm. The female looked back, obliged, moving to the left wall while the male moved to the right. Each drew a rock and hurled it her way, the male striking her.

Just then, a low, dark shape lumbered into view, all black metal and dark grey stone. Like some great insectile statue, it ambled along on six mechanical legs, a low V-shaped head with a yellow visor turning as the segments of its body curled around into the hallway. But most striking were the huge scythelike blades emerging from it.

Each was on an articulated arm, the blade nearly as tall as she was, totaling four in number. "Chop that Troll to bloody bits!" the male Giant commanded, as the heavy blade-wielding construct continued its clanking, grinding, thumping advance. Valerie groaned, "Like I didn't have enough to fight..." as one of the previously downed Trolls snapped awake, tried to rise after her. She swatted it down; at least they weren't very bright, but how much longer could she keep smacking them aside and try to deal with this war machine?

She'd find out soon enough, as she took another blow from one of the remaining Trolls. She slashed the injured Troll again, tearing half its face and one side of its neck out, then finishing with a second swipe. She wheeled on one of the remaining three behind her, latching on with her claws and savaging its guts open, adding a ripping bite to its throat to drop it as well. Turning back, she saw the Giants maneuver around to support the construct in a V-shaped formation, tossing rocks while keeping their greatswords at hand, the female slinging one well enough to harm her.

The bladed machine came in close enough to attack, sending its great blades sweeping at her. One caught her, cutting at her flesh easily enough. Adamantine, to boot. Lovely. The first Troll she'd downed tried to get back to its feet and was swatted down, but suddenly from behind, one of the Trolls got a lucky blow in, tearing harshly at her spine. She roared in pain, wanting to turn and tear it to bits, but she kept her focus on the newly-arrived construct.

"Bet you don't regenerate..." she growled as she launched herself at it, raking it savagely, damaging the body and head of the mechanical monstrosity severely. Seeing her furious assault, the male Giant reached to his belt and removed an inscribed rod of some kind. Turning to touch it against the side of the construct's body, he uttered an arcane command word. Before her eyes, much of the damage she'd just inflicted sealed itself up.

"Oh, fuck you!" she snarled at the Giant, who laughed at her distress.

"You die today, Troll!" he sneered, and the female joined in his mocking glee as she hurled another series of rocks at her. The construct again sent its blades slashing at her, this time not landing a clean hit, same as the two Trolls still conscious. Now Valerie was faced with a decision: keep trying to tear apart their construct, or go after the Giant who could repair it?

The fact it was still damaged gave her hope. She kept up her assault, "Prepare to see your toy broken!" she cried as she went after it again. Fresh gouges were torn into its structure by her claws, but dismay struck back when the Giant repaired them almost completely with a new use of that enchanted rod. Another barrage of burning stones was turned aside, but the construct struck home with two of its blades this time. Valerie was starting to weaken, the machine a far stronger opponent than the Trolls, one of whom again awakened to rise, only to be struck low. One of the two uninjured Trolls managed to claw her again. While they couldn't hit as hard, they were helping to whittle her down.

She started to wonder if she was going to get through this, and decided she had to try and stop the Giant repairing this walking combine harvester of a golem. It meant exposing herself during her maneuvering, an opening the Trolls failed to exploit. The construct, however, slashed painfully into her side as she closed in, swiping at the Giant. Her claws struck home, ringing his proverbial bell. She sneered, even as the pain of her wounds was piling on. With any luck she'd tear their golem apart before it could do the same to her.

Seeing what she'd done, the female Giant advanced quickly, trying to push the male aside out of Valerie's reach. She opened herself to attack, Valerie clawing at her, but she powered through and got him out of harm's way. "You won't stop us that easily, Troll!" declared the female, raising her sword to defend her comrade.

The golem tore at her again, three of its blades chopping into her, making her swoon with pain. She wouldn't last against that kind of damage. And now she was boxed in as the two Trolls advanced, trapping her there alongside the golem. One clawed at her, weakening her further, while a third arose behind them, snarling as it circled to try and find an opening to attack her.

Defiance in her eyes, Valerie went after the construct again, hoping to destroy it with more measured swipes of her claws. It was badly damaged by her assault, but remained functional as the male Giant tried to recover his senses, while the female attacked with her sword. Valerie kept her strikes from harming her, but she couldn't keep the golem from impaling her with two of its blades. As blackness overtook her, she heard again the laughter of the Giants.

Jolting awake, she sat up, a burning agony covering her body. She was naked, her long flowing hair was gone and she felt a wash of heat behind her. Before her crouched Linn, staring at her with an expression somewhere between awe and amusement. Gore-Dan was there, curled about her neck. Valerie groaned, and Linn raised a clawed finger to her muzzle, shushing her.

"I can hardly believe you survived that." commented the Sar'ik softly, nodding to what was the lava pit she'd encountered before.

Valerie shrugged, grimacing as her body worked to heal her from her weakened state. "Only acid works." She stretched, "How long was I in there?"

"The other cave was empty, so I waited until nightfall. When you didn't return, we came down after you. Gore-Dan helped me move the boulder aside, and we entered the halls under cover of Invisibility. My scrying spell told me you were in here. I found a piece of you floating among the lava, drug it out, and watched the miracle of trollish regeneration unfold."

Valerie looked around, "Guess those bastard Fire Giants took my gear." she grumbled with annoyance.

"Is that all you encountered?"

"No, they had a pack of Trolls with 'em. Looks to me like they implanted armor into them somehow, gave 'em metal claws and teeth."

"I've seen that sort of thing before. The Zhentarim had a pack of them they unleashed on us during the Vaasa campaign. Bladeragers, they're called. Though I hear it was the Fire Giants who originally made such horrors."

Valerie grimaced again as she rose to her feet. "It was the damn golem that got me. That and the cheating Giant that kept repairing it. Looked like a giant bug with four scythe blades built onto it."

"Sounds like an Eviscerator. Dwarves use them to defend their halls. Not surprising Fire Giants would do the same."

Valerie gave a sigh, "Well, there's still eight of those Trolls in there, plus the two Giants and their Eviscerator. At least."

Linn considered that, "I'll send Gore-Dan to scout around, see what he can find." The winged serpent slipped from her shoulders, and she waved her spear at him. This time, he shrunk even further, until he was little more than the size of a bug, before he vanished from sight.

"Whoa, how small did you just make him?"

"As small as you saw. I've altered him to be able to turn invisible at will."

"Why don't you do that the rest of the time?"

"It's difficult to explain. Modifying your eidolon is a careful balancing act of power. Too many different attributes spread your resources too thin. Being large and suited for flying transport leaves his offense and defense rather weak, for example, though I can keep him capable of having a breath weapon."

"So you make him little, and he can go into a kind of stealth mode, for scouting around? Just like making him that big mean ground-based thing earlier was better for exploring the cave?"

"Exactly. He can be many things, but only one at a time of any real use. Excuse me..." Linn drew herself up into a cross-legged posture, closed her eyes.

Valerie let her be, waiting for the pain to finish subsiding. She could take a lot of punishment, but it took time to get over as severe a beating as she'd taken. Not to mention being all but burnt to a crisp in a pool of lava! But it wasn't more than a few minutes before she was recovered. Shortly after, Linn opened her eyes as Gore-Dan reappeared, and was returned to his shoulder-wrapped size again by her.

"There's one more hallway beyond this one. It seems to be the most developed. Several rooms have living and working quarters, along with storage for goods and equipment. I also saw what must be a portal of some kind. If I had to guess, this is an outpost of some kind, under construction. Your count was correct, the Trolls, Giants and Eviscerator are all that's present. I also saw your things, alongside a pit where the bones of what I assume are our associates lie."

Valerie nodded, "Good. Now, how do we finish taking these assholes out?"

Linn considered that, "What was your trouble before?"

"I got bogged down fighting all those Trolls. They'd weakened me before I fought the golem thing. It tore me apart. Maybe if I could just fight it and the Giants..."

"I see. Perhaps Gore-Dan and I can bait the Trolls into pursuing us."

"Even if you can keep 'em off me for just a little while, it might be enough. Watch out, though. They explode when they die."

"So we found out in Vaasa. Don't worry, we'll be careful." She rose up to her feet, waved her spear again as Gore-Dan slipped from her shoulders. He grew in size, this time to a more human scale of serpent, losing his wings and turning a deep red, head taking on heavier fins that reminded Valerie of a Red Dragon's. She then cast a spell, and both she and her eidolon floated up into the air. "I'll turn you invisible as well. Stay here until I'm past with the Trolls, then deal with the rest."

Valerie nodded, and Linn did as she said. Then she and Gore-Dan both vanished from sight. Valerie stretched again, flexing her hands, itching to get her claws on those arrogant Giants and show them she wasn't so easily cast aside. A thought occurred to her then: could she recover her enchanted spear still? A simple act of will, and it appeared there in her hands. She grinned fearsomely.

It wasn't long before a loud explosion ripped through the hallway, along with shouts of alarm. "Slay them!" she heard the Giants crying in the distance, followed by more detonations and the roars of the Trolls. She saw Linn and Gore-Dan zip past the doorway, the Trolls, scorched but determined in pursuit. Once they were turned down the hall behind, she stepped out to see the Giants approaching. She grinned, waited until the male came within reach and ambushed him, "SURPRISE!" The Giant grunted in pain and surprise, but kept his wits about him as he cried, "You!"

He said to the female, "Fetch the golem!" as he took the repairing rod from his belt and tossed it to her. She caught it and took off back down the hallway. "Not so fast!" cried Valerie, lifting her spear to hurl after the female. It gave the male an opportunity to strike at her, but he missed, while Valerie's enchanted spear struck true, knocking the female dumb, delaying her retreat.

Sounds of explosions echoed from back behind her again as the male came at her with his sword, failing to harm her. Her spear reappeared in her hand and she hurled it again, again dodging the male, striking the female and keeping her off-balance. She turned her claws on the male then, tearing into him, followed by a bite. Left reeling as well, she was unopposed when her spear appeared again and she hurled it once more at the female.

It struck home as she turned to claw at the male again, finishing him out by tearing his arm from the socket, leaving him to topple into a pool of blood. But before she could hurl her spear again, the female vanished around the corner, finally shaken free of her dazed state.

"Shit!" Valerie snarled as she gave chase, arriving around the side of the other hallway as the female ducked into another side chamber. Rushing up to the entrance, she was greeted by the rumbling, clanking approach of the Eviscerator golem, the female now protected behind it by the doorway.

A smug expression curled her lips as the Giant said, "This time we'll fix a nice acid bath for you!"

"Oh, eat spear!" replied Valerie, tossing it, hissing as the Eviscerator exploited the opening to wound her anew. While she injured the Giant, she wasn't thrown off-balance by the impact. She tried to claw at the golem, but only managed to bite at it with her teeth.

The Giant pulled out rocks to hurl her way, failing to harm her. The Eviscerator cut at her again with two swipes of its blades, methodically weakening her with its relentless cutting attacks. She knew she couldn't take it for much longer. She tried one more throw, getting slashed again by the golem, but this time, her spear struck hard and the Giant reeled from the impact. Her claws and teeth damaged the golem as well.

It cut at her with three sharp blows, wounding her greatly. She wouldn't last much longer, it was now or never. She threw everything she had at it, letting her spear drop to the ground. While she damaged it badly, it was still operational as the Giant regained her senses, raised the wand, spoke the command word...

...and the spell promptly fizzled, failing to activate. "No you don't!" came the voice of Linn from behind Valerie.

Valerie grinned at the Giant, even as the Eviscerator tore into her again, leaving her near fainting. But she roared in defiance and threw herself into the construct, tearing at it, until it finally toppled over, deactivated by her fury.

"NO!" screamed the Giant, tossing the wand aside, drawing her sword and coming in for Valerie. Her blade cut into Valerie's side. She wobbled, but remained upright.

"OH, YES!" Valerie cried back, lashing out, catching the Giant by the sides of her head and tearing it open, sending brains flying onto the walls with the ferocity of her attack. The Giant slumped to the ground atop the ruined Eviscerator, and Valerie slumped against the doorway, panting as the rage left her and the pain of her wounds made her pass out.

She awoke moments later, fatigued and hurting from the slashes and stabs inflicted upon her, but alive. On her way to recovery. Linn was there nearby, and the Sar'ik smiled at her toothily. "Well-fought. That was a close one."

Valerie nodded, "It was, thanks for your help."

Linn waved a dismissive hand, "Just another day's work. Come, let's get your things and recover our dead before we ransack this place for valuables. I'm betting that armor of theirs is worth something, at least. Shame the golem's ruined."

"No it's not. Fuck this hunk of junk." Valerie gave the remains of the Eviscerator a swift kick, winced at the pain of impact. Linn laughed in good spirits, and Valerie chuckled herself as her injuries subsided. Linn showed Valerie where her gear was stored, and she dressed herself again, making sure everything was in her backpack.

Looking around, what Linn had said was true. Besides sleeping and eating areas, they'd set up forges, with supplies of metal ingots stacked around, alongside what looked like oversized torture devices and a large crucible, though it wasn't attached to any sort of chain. Perhaps the Giants just handled it manually? They were immune to fire, after all.

And there was the portal. A stone ring carved with runes, set against the furthermost wall of this outpost or whatever it was. "Should we do anything with it?" asked Valerie.

Linn replied, "I say we should seal it off with a wall of iron. I have a scroll of it on hand for times like these. If they've carved these halls in the way I suspect they have, it won't stop them, but it might slow them down long enough for us to get back here with a portal expert."

"Like Argen Redscale?"

"The very same." Linn produced the spell scroll in question, spoke the arcane phrases, and before them a dull grey iron sheet sprang into existence, anchoring itself into the rock. "Now let's find our allies' remains."

Valerie nodded, following the Sar'ik into another chamber, where a pile of bones and other sweet-sickly remains of garbage lay inside a pit. Some rough hides strewn about gave her the suspicion this was where the Trolls were kept. Climbing down into the mess, Valerie coughed at the disgusting smell. "Okay, here come the bones." She began tossing them up and out.

"Look for skulls, they'll be easiest to bring back. Oh, and any sort of chitin, since Thri-Kreen lack bones."

Valerie did so, finding a few of the hard insectile plates, and rummaged through until she located all the skulls. "Okay, there's way more than three down here."

"We'll take them all back and divine which are our allies. A shame for the others, but that's life."

Valerie tossed them all up, then climbed out of the pit again. Linn had it gathered into a sack, and together they looked around for valuables. The corpse of the first Giant she'd killed had been stripped and was bundled up, so they gathered his equipment before stripping the others. "Some sort of magic bracers." said Linn when she chanced to look it all over.

"They were using them to heat the rocks they threw at me." informed Valerie.

"Ah, that would explain it. Unusual that so many would have such things. It sounds like we're dealing with a tribe that's got exceptional skill at artifice, especially to make all the Bladeragers and build a golem like the Eviscerator."

"Yeah, don't they usually keep Hell Hounds instead?"

"Perhaps they felt them unneeded, with the Bladeragers and the golem. I have a feeling we'll find out soon."

"I don't like leaving that portal behind, but it's not what we were hired to deal with."

"Agreed. Still, I'd sooner lair here tonight than out in the cold and snow."

Returning to the forge area, Valerie looked over the metal ingots. "Think these are worth anything?"

Linn shrugged, "Perhaps. Less for them, more for us."

Valerie nodded, and gathered them up as well. That seemed to be all the goods worth taking, so the pair returned down the hall to one of the empty chambers and made their camp there. Linn shaped Gore-Dan into his quadrupedal ground form. "He'll keep watch while we rest."

The pair slept undisturbed, breaking camp the next morning to find everything as they'd left it. They left the confines of the cave to return to the frigid shadows of the mountainside, the sun not yet up high enough to shine on this face. Linn reshaped Gore-Dan to his great winged serpent form, and the two were airborne.

"How come you're not freezing to death in that outfit?" asked Valerie.

Linn laughed, "I have an enchanted crystal that protects me from normal temperature extremes. To me this feels no worse than a pleasant spring day."

"Gotta get me one of those." commented Valerie.

They flew all through the morning and into the afternoon before returning to the company garrison above the city of Murann. Once there, they made their report to Menhir and turned over the bones of the dead for examination, dropped off the plundered equipment and goods for appraisal. When it was done, the two parted ways, Valerie returning to Clawhold in order to spend the rest of the day with her family. Payday could wait; her son's life couldn't.


	14. Tower of Hell

The cries of infant Harold snapped Valerie awake. _Ugh...least this time I almost slept until morning..._ she thought before pushing herself from her bed. She waved at the stirring form of Regina and muttered, "I got it." Going to the crib, she bent down and brushed her great clawed hand gently over his side. "Hey...hey..." she whispered to him. Her other hand joined in to scoop her son up, bring him to her chest.

He squirmed, gave another squalling cry, and she rocked him side to side, humming tunelessly to him. The vibrations and movement helped. He quieted down after a few last fussy sounds, and she smiled. Like a lot of parents, she considered her baby adorable. And he was, long as you got past his Trollish features. If anything, he'd done more to help her accept her own transformation than all the months she'd spent here to date ever did.

She carried him in a circuit around the barracks room that had more or less become her and Regina's apartment here at Clawhold. Comar had made special dispensation for them, given her needs for child care. Everyone seemed to accept that. The only complainer was Paevo, and that was just to tease her than out of any real discomfort.

At least she was spared having to tend to diapers. Trolls, she had learned, completely digested everything organic they took in. Only in rare cases, as a result of disease, would they eliminate anything from their bodies. She'd also learned female Trolls went into heat roughly once a year, and the same herbal birth control that worked on other races worked on them, too. To be safe, she needed to get some soon. Harold was wonderful, but she wasn't eager to repeat the experience of making a baby.

It didn't take long before Harold drifted back off, and Valerie laid him back to rest before returning to her own bed. She slept a bit longer, but fitfully. She eventually gave up and rose, going about her morning routine. Her hair was only shoulder-length currently, still regrowing, albeit rapidly, from her near-total body destruction the other day in that lava pool. She needed to return to Murann today, see about getting paid.

As part of their circumstances, they were allowed to keep a portion of meat in their quarters to feed Harold with. Valerie set about fixing a stew of it he seemed to like. It wouldn't be long before he'd be awake again, and surely hungry. He was perfectly capable of just eating the meat as-is, and sometimes she or Regina would give him a sliver to snack on. But he needed moisture too, and this was the easiest way to give him both.

By the time it was ready, Regina was up and about. The wererat set to fixing tea for both of them, and once she was dressed they sat to enjoy the warm beverage and the welcome caffeine jolt it brought. They even managed to get through a whole cup before Harold let them know he was ready for his morning feeding.

Valerie exercised her privilege as employer that morning, left Regina to handle it while she joined the others in the mess hall. As usual, Paevo complained about her 'squalling brat ruining his sleep', even if there was no way Harold's cries carried that far.

"Oh, he was just hungry. You could come by and feed him. Your tail, for starters." she quipped back.

Once she'd feasted, she returned to watch Harold while Regina did the same. She carried her now-fed son out with her on a stroll, bundled up against the winter's chill in the courtyard as she took in the familiar sights of the garrison. The drill instructor was already out there with a group of rawhides, pounding their lessons into them. Literally.

Many of them had some skill at arms - you didn't survive long in savage society without being able to fight or contribute in some other fashion - but they needed discipline in fighting as a group. She watched for a time, then returned to her chambers to drop Harold off with Regina. Taking up her gear, she bid them both a good day before leaving to travel to Murann.

Once she arrived at the garrison she set out for the quartermaster's office. Along the way, passing the practice yard, she chanced upon the sight of a giant she'd heard about but never seen in person before. Standing about thirteen feet tall with a hairy, almost simian appearance, his most striking feature was the pair of heads atop his torso. He was an Ettin, a giantkin legends said was spawned of the mixing of orcs and ogres by the Prince of Demons, Demogorgon, a fiend known for his tremendous power and his own bicephalous nature.

The ability of two heads working in concert is what gave them such superior ambidexterity, each literally controlling an arm. And he was putting it to great use as he unleashed a flurry of spears from his hands, firing them off in a steady stream at a line of targets. Valerie was impressed, as were a handful of other onlookers. What caught her eye, though, was the fact he never seemed to reach for the twin quivers upon his back. Where were the spears coming from? Magically created, she assumed, since they were vanishing seconds after hitting the targets.

When the Ettin finished his barrage of throws, she approached. "Nice marksmanship."

He turned, looked around with both heads to the sides, then down at her. "Thanks." said one head. "Takes practice." said the other.

"I bet. I'm Valerie."

"Mok." said one. "Nak." said the other.

"Nice to meet you. I was wondering how you were throwing spears like that?"

The Ettin held up his hands. "Magic gloves." both heads said at once.

"Gotcha. I might want a pair of those. What're they called?"

"Endless Javelin Gloves."

She nodded, then pointed, "So why the other spears?"

"Some of dem special magic." said one head. The other said, "Like dis one. It makes lightning." The arm on its side reached to draw forth a blue spear with a yellow head shaped in a lightning zig-zag. "Others for if we fight in no-magic place." said the first, while the second one nodded emphatically.

"Okay, makes sense. Thanks."

"You welcome." both said, and Valerie left Mok-Nak to his affairs.

She arrived at the quartermaster, showing her claim ticket for the equipment and goods she and Linn had dropped off. The hobgoblin handling it found the assessment and handed it over. Looking at the value summary, it seemed she was entitled to eighteen thousand gold from the sale of the giants' equipment and twenty-six thousand gold from their goods. She then saw why: the ingots had been Adamantine.

Forty-four thousand gold, and she hadn't claimed the bounty yet. All in all, a very nice payday for their work. She collected her credit writ, and made her way to the commander's office. After a brief wait, she was shown into Menhir's office, the bald-headed Stone Giant returning her salute before saying "Here for your reward?"

Valerie nodded, "Yessir."

Menhir produced a pair of writs for her, "Five hundred for recovering the dead, and for the slain trolls and giants, as well as discovering their outpost, five thousand."

Valerie took them with a bow of thanks, and said "Any idea where the portal goes yet, sir?"

"Still waiting to get an expert out there to examine it. The Empire's very keen to know as well. His Majesty doesn't take kindly to interlopers on his lands, especially other giantkin. We find their main holding and it should be a good payday for whoever cleans them out."

Valerie wanted to get involved in that, and resolved to keep checking back for new developments. In the meantime... "Sir, if I may? Who could I talk to about getting better equipment?"

Menhir raised his brows, "You mean a vendor?"

"More an advisor on the sorts of things I should buy."

"Hmm. Well, the company's chief artificer might be of help. Tell you what, carry a message to her for me and you can use that as a way to get her advice."

"Yessir. Thank you, sir."

"Of course." said the Stone Giant while he quickly drafted a letter, sealed it and handed it over. "You'll find her at the armory in Sigil. Little gold-scaled Kobold, name of Aurum Redscale."

Valerie took the note, saluted and left. As she headed for the portal, she wondered if this Aurum was related to Argen somehow. She'd find out soon enough, she supposed. Crossing back into Midway and over to Sigil didn't take long, and she soon found herself at the armory. Showing the letter with Menhir's seal on it to the guard, she was let in and directed to the workshop area where Aurum could be found.

Sure enough, there she was, a gold-scaled Kobold with brilliant green eyes, intent over a pile of parts whose ultimate assembly Valerie couldn't begin to guess at. "Aurum Redscale?" she said.

The Kobold ignored her, focused on some sort of gear mechanism. Valerie waited patiently for a couple of minutes, then cleared her throat emphatically. When that didn't rouse the Kobold's attention, Valerie said "Important message for you."

Peering up at her with annoyance, the Kobold snapped, "Oh, that's what they all say!" before a toothed wheel went flying into the air and a spring bounced off in another direction. The Kobold hissed in an open-mouthed fashion, her tail twitching with agitation. "Now look what you made me do!" she griped at Valerie.

"Sorry, just..." Valerie tried to make an excuse, and thought better of it. "Sorry." She laid the letter down and looked about, found the spring and gear, handed them over.

Aurum snatched them up, laid them down, gave a little snort. "Suppose I can take a look now..." she griped, breaking the seal. After looking it over she gave an exasperated growl, "Wonderworker's wrath, why does everyone bother me when they can't find my egg-addled brother?!?" She slapped the letter down on the table for emphasis of her annoyance. "Bar this, I need a drink..." she muttered, hopping down from the tall stool she was on.

"Well, I was wondering..." began Valerie.

"Wonder while I have a pint! Keep up or be left behind!" said Aurum, reaching to a pouch at her side and removing what reminded Valerie of a small pair of horseshoes with sandal straps on them. She stuck the front of her long digitigrade feet into said straps, scuffed one on the floor and was suddenly sliding forward as if on wheels, literally floating a few inches off the ground. Like a rollerskater, she quickly built speed with a few more kicks, leaving Valerie to scramble in order to catch up.

Out the door and into the yard she glided, nimbly passing by others in her path. She was fast, faster than Valerie, despite her best efforts to keep up. Fortunately she didn't have far to go before she arrived at the main hall of the compound. Having been there before, Valerie could guess where she was going, and made her way inside to find Aurum hopping up onto a stool and gesturing for the barkeep.

She knelt there by the counter, waving the barkeep off when he sent her a querying look, and waited until Aurum had her mug before she said, "I wanted some advice on investing in magical equipment."

"What kind?" asked the kobold, sipping her ale.

"All kinds, I guess. I wanna strengthen my defenses, and there's an item I want that'll help me fight better at range."

"What do you have right now?"

"Mithril Chainmail, with this Amulet of Natural Attacks and an enchanted spear. Both the weapons have Adaptation enhancements, and the spear has a returning weapon crystal."

"And that's it?"

"Yeah. I wanna get a pair of Endless Javelin Gloves, I know that much."

"Hm. They don't have any enhancements, though they do produce weapons made of magical force. Won't help you much against more powerful outsiders, though, not like the alignment traits the Adaptation enhancement can produce."

"Is there some way around that?"

"Sure, we can transfer the enhancement off your spear onto a pair of gloves, same with any others you wanna keep. Then you just sell the spear off, since the gloves'll do its job and then some."

"Okay, sounds good. What else?"

"Depends what you're more concerned about. Offense or defense."

"I guess defense, I took a pretty good beating on my last job."

"Right, there's several things we can do. Just a second..."

Aurum took another long draw on her ale, then fished into her belt pouch for a monocle similar to the one Argen had used a while back to analyze her then-newly acquired spear. "Let's see..." muttered the Kobold, looking at Valerie intently. "All your gear's on you now?"

"Yeah."

After being peered over for a couple of minutes, Aurum took the monocle off. "Right, I see what we can do now. How much do we have to work with?"

"Money? Uh...around fifty-four thousand gold."

"Hm. Well, it'll make a start. Let's get your defensive bases covered before we worry about stacking the intensity. To start with, we'll enhance your natural defenses, add a deflective enchantment...you always fight bare-handed? Never use a shield of any kind?"

"That's right."

"Add a pair of shielding bracers then. Some protection against elemental damage. Cold and fire to start, they're the most common."

"I want one of those crystals that keeps you from getting too hot or too cold."

"Oh, an adaptation crystal? Easy. Then we'll add something to help you resist hostile magic, and that should just about cover your budget."

"Really? All of it gone like that?"

Aurum shrugged, "Gotta spend it to make it. And in this business, it could be the difference between surviving to cash in and becoming a pile of loot for the next berk who wanders by to collect."

"So can you handle it?"

"Sure. It'll take me a few days. Who do I send a message to when it's ready?"

"Valerie Bridgewater."

Aurum raised her mug in Valerie's direction, "Cheers, then."

"So Argen's your brother?"

"Yeah, he spends all his time flitting from plane to plane sticking his snout where it's not wanted while I build things."

"And I tear things to bits while taking a beating. We all have our part to play."

"I suppose." Aurum finished her drink, hopped down. "Back to it. I'll be in touch." She gave a quick wave Valerie's way and was off on those floating, skating horseshoes of hers again.

Valerie shook her head in wonder at the strange little Kobold, but rose and left the company grounds, making her way to the bank to deposit her writs. "Easy come, easy go." she muttered. With that done, she returned home to Clawhold to spend some time training with the others, be around her son.

Three days passed before a message arrived from Aurum. 'Need your armor and spear to finish the work.' So she made a trip back to Sigil and dropped them off. Two days later, another message: 'All done.' She returned once more to pick up the finished items.

Aurum was waiting, with her mail, a pair of gloves similar to those Mok-Nak had worn, a pair of silver bracers, a new cloak like her old one, a necklace with a green gem and a pair of rings. "Here we are. I added a natural enhancement to your mail, transferred the Adaptation and Distance enhancements from your spear to the gloves, and prepared the other items."

The kobold held up one of the bracers. "These are shielding bracers. Yes, you have to wear them both. Upon activation they produce an effect like that of an arcane Shield spell. You familiar with it?" When Valerie shook her head, Aurum explained. "It's a hemispherical barrier of force that helps block attacks against you. It also stops Magic Missile spells cold. Very useful for anyone who doesn't carry an actual shield."

"How do I activate it?"

"Just will the shield to turn on. It only lasts for a couple minutes at a time, but you can reactivate it as much as you want." She fingered the cloak, "Cloak of Resistance. Helps you shake off or avoid hostile spell effects and other dangers." She picked up one of the rings, "Ring of Protection, helps deflect attacks. Works as long as you're wearing it." She picked up the other, "Ring of Elemental Resistance. Right now, just Cold and Fire. Won't stop a big spell, but it'll help blunt them, and might stop the weaker spells. Like the other ring, works as long as you wear it." Finally she held up the necklace, "And one Least Crystal of Adaptation. Won't do much against other environmental hazards, but you stay warm in winter and cool in summer, no matter what you wear."

Valerie set to putting on her items both old and new. When it was done, she looked at the bracers and tried willing them to activate. She discovered it took more effort and concentration than she thought, but with a faint shimmer in the air, the force dome appeared, floating around her. She tried summoning spears to her hands with the gloves and found it was nearly effortless.

"Why do the bracers take so much effort to activate?" she asked.

"You want 'em to turn on in a split-second? We can do that, but it's much more expensive."

"How much?"

"Those bracers are around four thousand gold. Ones you're talking about? Try ninety thousand."

Valerie almost choked. "No, I think these are good..."

Aurum smirked, "I thought as much. Speaking of cost, it's fifty-four thousand, as quoted."

"What about my old spear?"

"That includes the sell value of it."

"Okay." Valerie issued a writ to Aurum for all the items. It only left her with two thousand gold, split between cash and savings. But she could make it back.

The Kobold smiled brightly, "Thank you for your business."

Once she left, Valerie took the opportunity to try her new gloves out, hurling spear after spear at some practice targets. While she didn't have the double-fisted speed of Mok-Nak, she could get off about one aimed toss every couple of seconds, which was about three times as fast as she'd been before, even with the enchanted spear returning to her.

Back at Clawhold, things were gearing up. Unity, the last day of the year, was tomorrow, and after that the new year festival of Needfest. A rousing celebration was in order. With their arrival, days of light duty ensued with much feasting, drinking, music and dancing, as well as contests and games.

It was hard to believe she'd first arrived on Oerth over six months ago, and had been in this universe, this body at least two or three months prior to that. How much things had changed. Back home, it'd be, what? Summertime again? Heading towards Independence Day? Fireworks and barbecues. She'd completely missed the NBA tournament.

Strange, too, how little she thought of such things anymore. Her life felt more and more like it was here, not there. Her work, such as it was, her friends, and most importantly her family. She still thought fondly of her parents, her aunt and uncle, but she had Harold to focus on now. And if a way home wouldn't present itself, she had to think of his life here and not back where she came from.

As the week of Needfest progressed in celebration of the six hundred and sixth Common Year's arrival, a group of visitors arrived at Clawhold from Murann. An Ogre, a Goblin, a Drow and a Thri-Kreen. It was Hort Boulderfist and his companions, who she'd rescued, returned to life. They all gave their thanks for her aid, and were eager to hear of how she'd defeated the Fire Giants and their lackeys.

They brought with them news of the outpost. Argen had arrived, gone out to examine the portal, but before he could activate it, the gateway had exploded, destroying it. At his best estimate, it had linked out to somewhere in the Troll Mountains to the northeast, solidly within Amn's territory. The ruler of Murannheim, Sothillis, was offering a reward for anyone who could locate their lair, but attempts to scry or divine answers had failed. As well, few were willing to travel that far this time of year to comb through a mountain range infamous for populations of trolls. Not to mention the near-legendary red dragon Balagos, the Flying Flame.

Even so, it made Valerie curious to see what the reward might be. So the next day, which was also the Faerunian New Year, she traveled to Murann. When she located the posting, she saw the current bounty was five thousand gold pieces. Not bad to find some place, but she lacked the means to do it on her own. Maybe if she could convince Linn or Argen to help her out...

The blast of a horn carried from without the gates of the fortress, drawing her eye to the arrival of a group of men on horseback. Actual humans, even, something she hadn't seen around the garrison before. Six in number, armed and armored with livery sporting the image of a human skull against what looked like a black sun, they came into the courtyard under much scrutiny, riding for the main hall. Valerie recognized the symbol as the mark of Cyric, the Prince of Lies, god of murder and intrigue. She knew Murranheim had an alliance with their church, but this was the first of their followers she'd ever seen.

Once at its doors, two of them dismounted to enter, while the others remained watchful of those about. She was just turning to head for the portals again when a voice called, "Members of the Monstrous Brotherhood! Attend the word of the Blackwill, Haarken Akhmelere, master of the Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse, most holy servant of the Prince of Lies!"

The figure speaking gestured to a fairly tall, slender human man of indeterminately middle age, dressed in the black and purple of their faith, wearing a silver circlet that held a black hood in place about his head, keeping his features in shadow. The man raised his hands, "Greetings, on this, the first day of the Year of Blue Fire. If only it were glad tidings that brought us here to the seat of our stalwart allies in Murannheim. I come, instead, to inform you that a great crime was committed against us at the turning of the calendar this past night."

He lowered his arms as he looked about, strode back and forth as he continued. "While we gathered in prayer to honor our lord, the Black Sun, our congregation was subject to attack by a force of fiends, straight from the depths of the Nine Hells! Though we rallied and fought bravely, their numbers were too great for our sworn swords. Only myself and my closest guard escaped, to journey here and seek aid from Sothillis of Murannheim. He has vowed to see our temple cleansed of the baatezu filth occupying it, and to that end promises a reward of no less than twenty thousand gold pieces for the brave souls who accomplish this task!"

That sent a murmur through the gathered throng. A voice rang out, "How many fiends is there?"

"By our best count, two dozen. Two-thirds of them are Barbazu, bearded devils. The rest a mixture of other, greater fiends."

"Yeah? What kind?"

"We spotted Erinyes, Osyluth, Hamatula, Gelugon and Cornugon."

Valerie recognized them as progressively stronger and stronger devils. None were the most powerful sort, the infamous pit fiends, but the latter two were known to be fearsome, the ice devils and horned devils. As others heard what sort of forces awaited any who sought the reward, most of them quickly walked off. Comments like 'fool's errand' and 'suicide mission' were passing around.

The Blackwill, seeing the mercenaries walking away, cried "Is this the response of the company who broke the tyranny of the Nameless Legion? Who cast down the mad Lich-Queen Vlaakith and freed the Githyanki from her oppression? Who liberated the cache of ancient Nedeheim from the Stingers and shattered the Abyssal portal of the Demon Prince Obox-Ob?"

The handful who were still listening seemed more interested in the theatrical oratory of the priest than in actually taking the job. All, that is, except Valerie. She stepped forward and asked, "How do you propose to get us there?"

The Blackwill turned at the sound of her voice, and replied "We control a portal leading from a site near our towers to another not far from the city. Any who will stand against our enemy may use it to reach them."

"I'll do it. I'll kill the fiends for you."

The high priest smiled, "Excellent! Who else will join this brave troll in our righteous task?"

When no one replied, Valerie just shrugged. "More money for me."

"Are you ready to smite our enemies?"

"Almost." Valerie went past them into the main hall, composed a message to be taken to Regina informing her of her mission, to alert others if she wasn't back in a couple of days. Once that was handled she returned. "Alright, lead the way."

Once the Cyricists were all mounted again, she followed along with their procession out of the garrison and down past the gates of Murann towards the east. A mile or so later they turned off the farm lane to head for the crumbling remains of a watchtower in the distance. There they dismounted to go among the ruins, where a wooden hatch was revealed by moving aside some rubble.

Valerie peered down inside, saw the ladder and floor below twenty-some feet deep. She simply stepped off into the shaft, dropping to land heavily on the natural stone. A grunt of pain, but the minor injury quickly healed as she crouched, the ceiling here not built for one of her size. All but one of the others climbed down, the Blackwill working a simple spell to create light as the one left above closed the hatch.

They went down a short, cramped tunnel to another chamber, where Valerie could see the portal, hanging in the air, warbling its thin watery sound. The Blackwill approached, removed some sort of sigil from his belt and touched the surface, opening the gate. She went through with the rest, to find herself in another darkened cavern, this one at least sporting a higher ceiling.

When everyone else was present, the Blackwill pointed to one of his retinue. "Strifemaster Garos will escort you to the gates of the tower. When you've cleared the devils out, return at his side."

Valerie nodded, and followed the armored figure through the passage beyond, outside onto a small, winding path among the towering cliffs of the mountain where the tower lay. He went slowly up the way, before it widened out into a semicircular valley. At first glance, all she saw were more cliffs ahead, and a trail leading off down away. But as they drew nearer, something seemed...off. Like one of those old trick pictures, it took her a minute to see how they had cunningly disguised the walls of the fort and tower itself to blend into the stone around it.

"I will wait here. Smite those fiends." proclaimed her escort.

Valerie gave a noncommittal grunt and approached the outer fortification. The gate was closed, so she dug her claws into the stone and climbed up easily, crossing the wall into the courtyard beyond. She saw only the rising tower before her, heard naught but the wind whistling through the snowy peaks around her.

She focused her will upon her bracers, activated the shielding spell, then called, "COME OUT! FACE ME!"

No reply. As the seconds crawled by to a minute, she refreshed the spell.

Then from out of nowhere, they all appeared, surrounding her. Sixteen human-sized figures with green scaly skin, clawed birdlike feet, long horns protruding from the top of their heads and tangled black beards around their toothed maws. Sawtoothed glaives at the ready, pointing at her. Two larger figures, her size, like skeletons, only with long jointed tails like a scorpion's, wickedly clawed hands.

Floating above, large white insectile creatures with long blunt tails, handling spears, one before and behind. To her left and right, two great grey gargoyle-like beings with large batwings, yet not flapping to support them as they leered at her with fanged maws and handled spiked lengths of chain.

And also hovering there, a strangely beautiful white-skinned woman with blood-red hair and feathered wings, a bow in her hands, while nearby another tall green figure floated, covered in sharp barbed spines from head to toe, long tail lashing behind it.

One of them, she couldn't be sure which, spoke into her mind. _Foolish mortal, you have one chance: submit now, or die._

Valerie snorted, "I'd say the same, but I'm not being paid for live fiends."

With that, the two skeletal fiends came forward, an unnatural terror arising in her on their approach. She fought off the panic it tried to instill in her, leaving her momentarily shaken by it as they lashed out with claws, teeth and tails. She warded off their strikes, while the bearded ones all came at her with their polearms, a battle-fury lighting in their eyes. Most were easily stopped, but one caught her side with a raking stroke, leaving behind a wound that ached with an unnatural pain.

She had no time to consider it, as from above the two insectile fiends thrust their hands forward and unleashed terrible chilling cold down upon her. One of the blast waves seemed to do nothing, while the other was blunted somewhat by her enchanted ring. The barbed fiend unleashed two beams of burning orange light at her, searing at her skin despite her protection.

The bat-winged fiends unleashed sparks of fire that flew down to explode violently around her, the flames having no effect upon any of the fiends caught in the blast. She did her best to avoid them, but felt one sear her far worse than the other. Above, the feather-winged devil drew her bow, flames trickling along the arrow as she shot twice, failing to harm her.

She was feeling the effects of the other fiends' attacks, though. Moreover, the glaive wound was bleeding horribly, slowing her regenerative ability. They had airborne spellcasters out of her reach, and trying to attack them at range would just leave her exposed to the ground-bound ones. She had to force them to fight on her terms. She unleashed her primal fury as she turned towards the tower, rushing the line of fiends. They lashed out at her with their weapons, one of the bone devils biting at her, but she was undeterred as she rushed at and toppled over one of the bearded fiends, breaking their line to rush at the door.

As she arrived, the two bone devils disappeared to reappear at opposite sides of her, while the bearded devils rushed forward, the foremost slashing at her with their weapons. The two insectile devils flew after her, thrusting their spears in as she felt that unnatural fear claw at her again. She kept it from driving her to panic, as one spear struck, sending a numbing cold through her. She was able to shake it off, though, while the barbed devil came in to fire more burning rays at her. Right behind came the twin roars of fiery explosions from the bat-winged fiends' magic, while the feather-winged one's arrows bounced from her hide.

Ignoring the fiends, she turned her attention to the door, lashing out to dig into...stone? She snarled with frustration; an illusion! She had no time to search for the real door, it was fight or fall. She turned back to lash out at one of the insectile devils, sending it reeling while her amulet worked to adjust to its natural protections.

The bone devils struck at her, one delivering a minor bite wound, while the bearded devils lanced at her with their glaives, one striking her and causing another of those horrible bleeding wounds. Seeing how she tore into its fellow, the other ice devil drifted away from her reach after stabbing her with its spear once. Again she fought off the numbing wave of cold its strike brought, just in time for the barbed devil to again send those burning rays at her. This time, they bounced harmlessly from her.

Luck was with her as one of the fiery explosions sent by the bat-winged devils had no effect either, the other minimized by her magical protection. But a new detonation of shadowy energy struck by the hand of the feather-winged fiend, tired of failing to harm her with its arrows. It threw her off-guard, causing her first swipe at the dazed ice devil to miss, but two quick follow-up blows sent it keeling over in midair.

Following through with that disabling blow thanks to her practice with Comar, she struck a bearded devil, latching on and tearing it apart to follow through into wounding a second. She threw off the attacks of the bone and bearded devils as fresh combatants came forward to replace the slain, the barbed devil's spell again bouncing from her resistance. Then a crash of thunder split the air as bolts of lightning flew from the bat-winged pair, one of which electrocuted her, despite her best effort to dodge aside. Again she was splashed by the darkness explosion, but to no effect.

She turned her efforts against the bearded devils, wanting to keep them from wounding her further, hoping once she cleared them aside she could turn her efforts against the others. The wounded second one fell as she pushed past into a third, then latched on to tear it apart, following into a fourth, leaving it wobbling there unsteadily. One of the bone devils lashed her with its tail, but the stinger couldn't pierce her hardened skin.

The bearded devils fared no better as the ice devil floated there, unable to blast her with its cold spells without harming the other fiends present, and not wanting to risk the same fate as the other by getting in her reach. The barbed devil snarled in frustration as its spell again failed to harm her, but the twin strikes of lightning that followed shook at her as did the shadow spell of the feathered devil. She tore apart the fourth bearded devil, sweeping tearing blows adding a fifth and sixth to her kill tally, wounding a seventh.

Claws from one of the bone devils skittered ineffectually against her shoulder while she stopped the bearded devils from harming her, the magical shield proving itself quite useful in adding to her defense. Sadly, it didn't help when two more burning bolts finally struck from the barbed devil's hand, nor did it stop another lightning bolt from delivering a nasty shock to her. The pain was stacking up, she was feeling weakened. But it didn't stop her from downing a seventh and eighth bearded devil, wounding a ninth badly.

As she fended off the assaults by the bone and bearded devils, she saw the ice devil she'd downed snap back awake. It had been healing from her earlier blows, and righted itself to withdraw back with its fellow fiend. A fresh pair of burning bolts bounced from her to the barbed devil's annoyance. Meantime, the two bat-winged devils, apparently done tossing spells, flew in, swinging those spiked chains at her. But they had no more luck than their ground-based allies, as another shadow burst erupted around her. Even bleeding as she was, Valerie felt her wounds lessening slightly.

That emboldened her to strike down the ninth bearded devil, sweeping her claws into a tenth, tearing it apart, but failing to fell the eleventh. Now only six of them remained, the last fighting line left before her. Just then, their battle-fury left them, and the wounded eleventh one collapsed, leaving only five. They and the bone devils failed to harm her while the barbed devil's spell bounced once again.

But a swing from the bat-winged devil's chain caught her, momentarily causing her to reel. Jesus, they hit hard! She shook it off while getting hit with the shadow burst again, and turned to tear into the remaining bearded devils again. An eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth fiend dropped, more easily felled now that their battle frenzy had left them. The bone and bearded devils' attacks were blocked, while she was struck again by the burning rays of the barbed devil. Another blow from the chain of a horned devil rocked her back, but she rallied through another shadow explosion to slay the final three bearded devils and wound one of the bone devils.

It clawed back at her to no avail, but now that the bearded devils were gone, the ice devils maneuvered in to float above the bone devils, angling the blasts of their cold magic to keep from hitting the other fiends or one another. She weathered one thanks to her spell resistance, though the other chilled her despite her best efforts. She wouldn't be able to take that for very long. The spells from the bearded devil and white-skinned devil bounced, while she kept the chains of the bat-winged fiends at bay.

It was a risk, but she had little choice. She had to try and stop the ice devils from attacking her. Hopefully she could daze them with her spears and not get pounded flat by the other devils in the process. Ducking strikes from the bone and bat-winged devils, she sent a spear flying at each of the ice devils, striking them both, then tried to claw the wounded bone devil, missing it. The ice devil she'd already hurt was reeling, but the other was alert and ready to strike again.

The bone devils attacked to no avail, while the ice devil's spell washed harmlessly over her. But a beam from the barbed devil struck with unusual force, causing it to howl with glee as she grimaced from the pain. Still, she kept the spiked chains from injuring her while the shadow spell flashed harmlessly around her, and ducking the melee attacks struck both ice devils again, this time leaving one reeling and the other downed anew. A third spear flew at the barbed devil, but it managed to dodge aside, just as she did of the bone devils' attacks.

Fire rays bounced off her again, while another blow landed from a chain swing, rocking her again. Good thing she was as tough as she was! Weathering the shadow burst as best she could, she struck the remaining ice devil, one of the horned devils and missed the second horned devil with her spears, leaving the ice and horned devil reeling. The bone devils brought her no harm, while she took fresh wounds from the burning rays and shadow magics, ducking the blows of the chains.

However, as she raised her hand to throw a new volley of spears, WHAM! The still-alert horned devil's chain swatted her, leaving her reeling, dropping the spear she'd just manifested. She tried to shake herself of it, but no luck was had while the blows and spells of the devils rained down around her. Fresh strikes from the chains of the bat-winged fiends kept her off-balance while terrible cold and burning heat splashed over her. She clung to consciousness, just barely, starting to recover her senses. But at last, a twin blast of cold from the ice devils caused her to topple over, into darkness.

Valerie snapped awake, sitting upright to look all around. The stink of blood was chokingly thick even in the frigid air. She felt sticky all over, crusty, weak, thirsty, hungry. All around her in roughly a twenty-foot circle, the snow was stained a dark red. Standing there just outside the circle, rubbing his hands with white snow, was a Goblin. He held up his still-bloody hands, "Peace, cutter. I'm Brotherhood. Name's Knack. I wuz sent ta find yez." He was speaking quietly, and looked up, a wary expression on his yellow-green face, dreadlocked dark hair spilling around the sides of it.

She nodded, croaked "How long?" Fuck, she was thirsty. Given this huge pool of blood likely belonged to her, it was little wonder! She reached for her pack, dug inside, got out her waterskin and went to work.

"Three days. Found yez bleedin' like a stuck boar. Took all the bandages I had ta make it stop."

Once she'd guzzled several skins' worth of water, Valerie dug into her pack again, hauled out the rations, gobbled them down. "Fiends all dead?" she asked.

"You tell me, cutter. They din't say nothin' 'bout them, 'cept ya was here ta kill 'em. I ain't seen 'em. Like ta keep it that way."

Putting her things away, Valerie pushed herself to her feet. She still felt weak, but was getting better. Her regenerative faculties were at work again, finally. Her hunger and thirst were abated, but inside she felt anger and shame. They'd bested her. And then just left her out here to bleed out. She guessed they had ways to keep wounding her, make her bleed so badly her healing couldn't keep up at all. A few more days and she'd have died of thirst and hunger, laying in a sea of blood.

A quick inventory showed she still had all her equipment, at least, and her money. She got away from the blood-soaked snow, gathered clean snow, used it to wash at her skin best she could. She discarded the bandages once she was sure her wounds had fully closed.

"So, I'm thinkin' a half-share's fair for my lil rescue job." prompted Knack.

Valerie grunted, "When I get paid, you get paid. And for me to get paid..." she looked up at the tower. "I need to get in there. I ain't fighting these assholes in the open again."

Knack looked at the tower, scowled. Then gave her a sly smile, "Sure, I'll help yez. For a full share. An' you does all the killin'."

Valerie glowered at the Goblin. She considered trying to bully him into helping her, but that wasn't right. He had risked his neck to come out here and save her; after all, he didn't regenerate. "Fine, deal." she said.

Knack held his hand out to shake, and Valerie obliged. "Right. Let's get in there." said the Goblin. He walked up to the illusory door.

"No good, that's fake." said Valerie.

"Sure is." said Knack. He looked around, then poked at a block of the stone nearby. With a scraping, grinding sound, a stone door swung open. Right where the illusion was. "That one ain't." he gave her a cheeky grin.

Valerie stared, then growled "Fuck you and your followers, Cyric."

Knack looked around and pointed in Valerie's direction, speaking to thin air, "Wuz her that said it, not me!" He seemed genuinely concerned the Prince of Lies was about to appear and smite them.

Valerie snorted, "Wouldn't be the first god I've pissed off." as she stepped past into the tower beyond. Across the room she saw a stairwell leading up. "Wait here." She looked; no sign of Knack. She scented the air...no, he was still there. Just invisible, she guessed. Well, she didn't blame him. She started up the stairs, climbing floor by floor. She came across a couple of dead Cyricists, but not the numbers she'd been expecting. Where were they all at? She didn't see anything that looked like an altar or chapel as the floors passed.

When she came to the top, she saw the white-skinned feather-winged devil there, looking expectantly her way. Upon spying Valerie, she got an expression of surprise, then vanished before Valerie could do anything.

"Shit!" Valerie cursed. No doubt she'd gone to alert the others. She activated her shielding bracers, readied a spear to throw, standing just in the entryway of the chamber. Sure enough, moments later they all appeared. The two ice devils side-by-side, with the bone devils to their flanks and just ahead, the horned devils behind the ice devils, and the female and barbed devil behind the bone devils. She unleashed her rage, snapped her readied spear at one of the ice devils.

Unfortunately she threw too quickly and the spear went past, smashing the window and flying outside. She had no time to dwell on it as the fiends came for her, a shadowy explosion washing over her, followed by waves of cold. Valerie wasn't so easily deterred this time, however, as she came forward. That same terrible fear washed over her as she got close to the ice devils, but she pushed it aside as best she could to strike one and send it reeling. The bone devils came in, biting, clawing and stinging. One landed a blow with its tail, but couldn't break through her armor-like skin.

From behind, the horned devils unleashed balls of fire to explode, filling the room with their detonation, blowing out the remaining windows. Valerie took only minor injury, as one failed to harm her. Further minor burns ensued as the barbed devil's rays struck her, followed by another burst of shadow energy and a wave of cold that had no effect. Valerie went after the wounded ice devil, tearing into it savagely, dropping it to the ground and swiping across to swat the other one, leaving it reeling as well.

The bone devils edged in closer, the unnatural fear washing over her again, but to no avail, much as their attacks. Again the fiery explosions rocked the room, but Valerie was only slightly injured by them. It wouldn't be long before she was on top of them, and they'd share the same fate as their buglike kin. The burning rays bounced from her skin this time, while another shadow burst went off. Valerie bore the pain easily, intent on slaying the other ice devil and going after the pair of horned devils. They had made her hurt; it was payback time.

The ice devil fell swiftly before her lethal claws, letting her sweep in to tear at one of the bone devils, wounding it and leaving it reeling. The other came at her again, but she fended off its blows while another pair of explosions washed over her, burning at her skin, unlike the rays sent out by the barbed devil or the shadow burst the female devil kept summoning. Stepping forward, Valerie went after the horned devils. She didn't want to give them the chance to stun her again, so she struck at both of them, wanting to put them off-balance and keep them there.

She struck each, sending one reeling, but the other seemed alert, so she struck it again, latched on, tore at it, leaving it knocked silly as well. The bone devils tried to harm her, but had no luck, while the barbed devil fared little better, only giving her a minor burn. Without the horrible bleeding wounds dragging her down, she was keeping herself from taking serious injury, especially now that the elemental fury of the four more powerful fiends had been stopped.

Or had it? Behind her, one of the ice devils stirred! She'd just knocked it out, not killed it. In her efforts to stay on top of the horned devils, she'd failed to notice it was still healing from one of her earlier injuries, prior to her amulet adapting to its resistances. Before she could do anything, though, it vanished from sight. She snarled with annoyance at not actually slaying it, but she had bigger concerns: finishing off its compatriots.

She noticed the horned devils were healing too, so she resolved to be sure they were dead, once both were down. She rocked them both back with blows from her claws, and tore into the more-injured one again. The bone devils managed to give her a minor wound, while the burning rays bounced from her skin once more. Another shadow-burst struck, but Valerie paid it little mind. She swatted both horned devils again, making them reel while she put one on the floor, swept into the second, tore at it and left it badly hurt.

The bone devils continued to harass her to no effect, while a single burning ray struck her for another minor wound. A surprisingly intense shadow-burst followed, earning the female devil a snarl from Valerie before she tore into the still-standing horned devil, sending it down, sweeping her claws into the already-downed one, insuring it wasn't getting up. She attacked the freshly-downed one again, making sure of its demise, then turned to the injured bone devil, latching onto it with her claws and tearing it apart, sweeping into the other one, leaving it dazed.

Two more fiery bolts struck, searing at her skin, a shadow-burst washing harmlessly over her as she set about finishing off the last bone devil. Her claws took hold, tore it open, dropping it. Now only the barbed devil and the winged female were left. She sent spears flying at each one, striking them, leaving the female fiend reeling, though the barbed devil just snarled and sent more fiery bolts at her, splashing harmlessly against her hide.

She sent more spears flying, two at the barbed devil and one at the female, keeping them both off-balance. More and more spears flew, rocking the fiends over and over as wounds piled up, until at last they each toppled from their injuries, joining the others in death.

Her rage fled, Valerie stepped away from the bodies to lean against a wall and catch her breath. The stink of her burnt blood was in the air along with the reek of the ichorous blood from the slain fiends, but the wind whipping through the open windows was helping chase it away. Once she felt recovered from her post-battle fatigue, she returned downstairs, searching floor by floor. No sign of the other ice devil.

Back at the bottom, she looked around. "Knack? It's over. They're dead, or run off."

The Goblin appeared at the far side of the room, "Sounds like a right bad row went on up there."

Valerie smirked, "For them. Get them inside where they can't fly out of my reach, they're not so tough."

"One run off, ya said?"

"Yeah, I don't think it's gonna cause trouble, but you never know. Let's get outta here."

The pair left the tower, closing the door behind. Valerie looked down, "Need a lift over the wall?"

"Nah, got my own way." The Goblin went up to it, and just scurried right up the side, like he was Spider-Man or something. He gave her a cheeky flip of a wave, and went over the other side.

Valerie followed after with less ease, simply jumping off the other side, grunting with the impact. The pain fled in seconds, and the two went back down the narrow pass towards the portal.

One of the Cyricist guards spotted their approach and waved. "Well met! It's done?" he called.

Valerie nodded, "All dead or fled."

The guard made no comment, just escorted them back to the portal, where the remainder of the Cyricists, including the Blackwill, awaited. He looked at them, "You did survive, after all. The fiends?"

"One fled, the others are slain." said Valerie.

"Which one?"

"One of the ice devils."

Even shadowed by his cowl, Valerie could see the displeased expression on the Blackwill's face. "Then your job is not done!"

Valerie gave a harsh laugh, "You better fucking believe it's done. You want that last devil killed, do it yourself. I've bled plenty for this contract. And I expect to get paid."

Knack piped up, " _We_ expect to get paid." he corrected.

The Blackwill bristled at being spoken to like that, but said tersely "I will consult the Black Sun. His will shall be done, and nothing but."

"His will better be our twenty thousand gold pieces, or the whole Brotherhood'll hear how you backed out on us." said Valerie.

The Cyricists gathered around and left the cave, headed for the tower. Valerie followed after with Knack in tow, to the gates and within. Once there, the guards began to sweep through, and opened up a passage they hadn't chanced upon. One leading below the tower. The Blackwill spoke, "You will wait here while I commune with our lord Cyric." before he vanished down into whatever lay beneath.

Valerie muttered, "Fucking religious fanatics."

Knack gave his own version: "Sodding god-bothering leatherheads."

It took a short while, but the Blackwill returned. "Well. It appears you were wrong. The last ice devil is indeed dead. Exactly how I do not know, but it will not be returning here, at least for a hundred years. So, your contract is fulfilled. We will see you paid shortly. Our thanks in restoring our temple to us."

"Keep your thanks, just pay me and get me the Hell back to Murann." returned Valerie. She was ready for a hot bath, a hot meal and the company of her family.

The Blackwill had one of his men escort them to the portal and through, back to the farmland beyond. Once there she and Knack returned to the garrison, parting ways as Valerie made her way home to Clawhold. It had been three days, she discovered, that she lay there. But no matter. The job was done, and she was where she belonged. At least for now.


	15. Siegebreaker

Klink-klink-klink-klink-klink.

"And that makes twenty for you." said the Cyricist handling the platinum trade bars.

Knack gave his cheeky grin, "Much obliged, cutter." and swept them off the counter into a waiting bag. Given the way it didn't bulge or seem to weigh him down, Valerie could only assume it was magic, much as her backpack was.

"I trust our business is concluded?"

Valerie gave a curt nod, her own twenty trade bars secreted away. Ten thousand gold, as promised.

Knack gave a flippant little salute, "Catch yez 'round the lane." and strolled on out with a jaunty step, whistling some tune.

"The Blackwill sends his gratitude. Good day." said the Cyricist, before leaving.

Valerie followed out into the cool winter morning of the Murann garrison yard. A long deep breath, and she sighed with relief. That was concluded, now the question became: what to do with the money? Deposit it, obviously, but as long as she was there in Sigil, she might as well try to see Aurum, find out if the little Kobold had any suggestions for investments. Her battle with the fiends had shown her there were things she wasn't prepared to deal with effectively, like flying enemies and large amounts of destructive magic.

Thankfully she'd been able to dictate the terms of engagement inside the tower. For whatever reason, the fiends hadn't simply fled and tried to force the battle back to their advantage. Another reason to consult with Aurum. She made her way back to Sigil and went in search of the quirky Kobold.

Not surprisingly, Aurum was at work on some project for the Brotherhood in their shop, but she took a break to speak with Valerie. "So what do you need now?" she asked with a faint tone of impatience.

"Wanted to ask a few things. One, what can I do to chase down flying enemies, magic-wise? Two, is there something to help stop really bad bleeding wounds? I took several when I was fighting those fiends the other day and my regeneration just didn't stop them."

Before she could go on, Aurum held up her clawed hand. "Okay. There are ways to get airborne, but they range from cheap to really expensive. This something you expect to do a lot, or is it a quick-fix sort of situation?"

"Quick-fix, I think. It's the first time it really became a problem."

"Okay. Best thing for you's gonna be a couple of flying potions. Use as needed, replace when they run out."

Valerie knew of magic potions as one-time items, but hadn't had a use for them until now. She nodded, "What about the bleeding?"

Aurum gave a soft honking sigh through her snout that made Valerie think of Splish, the little river dragon she'd met so long ago. "I only know of one item that's a sure-fire fix for that. And I'm not sure you'd need it enough to get it."

"I don't ever wanna be in a situation where I'm bleeding constantly for three days straight again."

"What happened? They wound you enough that you dropped from blood loss?"

"No, I went down cos of the beating I took. I stayed down cos they overpowered my regeneration with those wounds."

"Hmm. Sounds like as much an emergency heal problem as anything. And the best thing for that...is a heal potion. Acts as a general cure-all for just about anything. It might not still stop that kind of bleeding, which is magical in origin, a drawback to fighting some types of Baatezu. But it could keep you up long enough to see the fight through."

"Speaking of, when I first fought them, they were on me in a tight formation, well-organized and brutal. But when I broke into the tower and fought them, forced them onto my terms, they still came at me even though I had the advantage."

Aurum looked at her suspiciously. "Describe what you mean."

"Well, ones that were flying before didn't, and they didn't try taking the fight back outside where it would've been how they chose to do it."

The Kobold sat ruminating on that for a minute. "Highly unusual, but I think I can see why. Terms of their summoning. If they were all called forth and given strict orders to obey, they were bound to that. Baatezu are nothing if not sticklers for binding contracts."

Valerie nodded, "Okay, I guess that makes sense. So, how much would these potions cost?"

"Seven hundred fifty for the flying potion, and at minimum, thirty-three hundred for the heal potion."

Valerie's eyes widened, "For one potion?"

"What's cheaper? One potion or replacing all your gear after the cost of coming back from the dead?"

Valerie sighed. "Yeah. Shit, I should go into your line of work, making this stuff."

Aurum only grinned in reply. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, but I dunno if I have money to do much about it. What about stuff turning invisible?"

"You have a couple options. The cheapest one is to keep a bag of flour or other powder handy. Another is a See Invisibility potion."

"How effective is flour?"

"It works as long as they don't stop and wipe it off again."

"Eh. How much for the other potion?"

"Three hundred gold."

"Okay. Gimme one of those, and one of those expensive heal potions, and...I guess two of the flying potions, just to be safe."

Aurum made a few notes on a scrap piece of paper. "Alright. Come by tomorrow, I'll have them."

"Thanks, Aurum." Valerie left her to her work, headed for the bank to make her deposit, then returned back home. The next day she came around again to collect the items she ordered. Just four little vials, each smaller than her fingers, two the same color, the other two different shades.

"That'll be fifty-one hundred gold." prompted Aurum.

Valerie presented her with a writ, stowed the potions onto her equipment belt. "Now let's hope Harold doesn't grab one and try to eat it." she muttered. Leaving Aurum, she went about her business, the usual daily routine back home in Clawhold of spending time in practice and with her son and Regina.

Several days passed, with Needfest ending and the resumption of the regular Oeridian calendar year. Valerie was making progress in her practice with Comar and Blind Jak, learning the Umber Hulk's unarmed techniques, which he called Beast Claw style. While she lacked his level of discipline and overall mastery, she was starting to get the hang of using her bare hands as weapons, without claws.

"Once you understand this, you can master the combination that is the Beast Claw." buzzed the Umber Hulk.

Comar grunted, "Gimme a good sharp length o' blade any day." As good as he was brawling with his own claws and teeth, a two-handed sword was still his go-to weapon. Heavy wrecking blows and a fighting style that reminded Valerie of a two-legged bulldozer were his hallmarks.

Blind Jak, on the other hand, was deceptively quick and nimble in his movements, especially as ungainly as the gorilla-like insectoid seemed. He could lash out and crush with his heavy talons far faster than Valerie could. She tried to build up her hand speed, but progress was still slow so far.

It was three days later a message arrived for her, from the Murann garrison. Her services were being requested specifically, by the church of Cyric. According to them, a large enemy force was en route to their mountain redoubt and they wanted her to slay or rout the foe. Payment promised was five thousand gold, plus right of salvage to all goods held by the enemy forces. She frowned at the thought of dealing with those religious fanatics again, but work was work, and she might bring in a nice penny from the equipment of the enemy.

"Be careful, miz Valerie." said Regina, when she was told of her intent to leave.

"Always am, as much as I can be." replied Valerie, and she smiled at her son, kissing him goodbye, which made him burble happily.

When she arrived at the garrison, she went to see Lieutenant Menhir, the Stone Giant commander, and formalize the contract. "Latest report says the force is Amnian military, a company of men out of Imnescar. Mixed infantry, archers and cavalry. They'll arrive sometime tomorrow."

Valerie nodded grimly. She'd gone up against all manner of things in her time here, but she'd never had to fight humans. She supposed it was inevitable, but the idea was vaguely disturbing. Perhaps more worrisome, had she really considered it, was how used to the notion of slaughtering scores of foes she'd become. As it was, she simply said, "There an escort to take me back to their Black Tower or whatever?"

Menhir nodded, "They should be in the common room of the main hall." He saluted, "Good hunting."

She returned it, "Thank you, sir." and left to find the Cyricists. Sure enough, there were two of them there, looking distinctly uncomfortable at the nonhuman company around them, some of whom were enjoying leering at the pair and making a show of seeming displeased at their presence. They seemed relieved when Valerie approached and said, "Okay, let's go, back to the tower." She showed them the contract, and they rose to leave.

Out of the garrison and to the tower outside town, then down into its ruins and through the portal they went. They actually had guards on the gate this time. Apparently they'd been rebuilding their forces, though she guessed not well enough to hold off a siege. Yet the way Menhir talked about it, the approaching force didn't sound like they were coming for that, since he hadn't mentioned any war engines or similar equipment. Maybe it went without saying. Or maybe they weren't expecting resistance.

Either way, she took a post atop the gatehouse, clearing away some snow to make camp. Shadows loomed, but inside a high-walled cul-de-sac among the mountain peaks like this, it was dark more than daylight most of the time. At least the cold wasn't a problem, thanks to her enchanted armor crystal. As day turned formally to night, she kept watch until fatigue set in, and took her rest.

When it began to grow light again, she rose and broke camp, settling once more to watch. Save for the wind whistling through the crags and the occasional animal noise, all was quiet. She was alone out here, the guards retreated back to the tower in the night. She amused herself idly tossing javelins to various distances and marks, until at last, she heard it. A distant rustling and rattling, from the trail below.

Getting to her feet, Valerie stretched. This was likely it. Within a few minutes, she heard hoofbeats, and spotted a man ride up on horseback. Dressed in a heavy tabard and cloak over his armor, a lance upright in the saddle holster bearing the multi-coin pennant of the nation of Amn, he gazed about, then stopped when he spied Valerie. She smirked as she raised her hand and waved at him.

He wheeled his horse about and rode off. The sound of movement was overridden by calls of men for the force to halt. Several minutes passed, then calls to march came again. It wasn't long before the company arrived in force. At the forefront were their cavalry, most like the one she'd seen, though a few were sporting heavy plate armor rather than the reinforced metal-and-leather scale mail most of the soldiers wore. Twenty and change in total, they were supported by the wall of infantry, sixty-some men in all, split into two large groups of thirty.

Bringing up the rear were the archers, forty-odd in number, distinguished from the infantry by the carrying of longbows, instead of the crossbows their fellows bore. Seeing them all assembled there in their ranks was slightly intimidating. But only slightly.

Valerie raised her hands and called out, "None of you have to die today. Turn around and go home."

That sent a murmur through them, as one of their number, a commander of some sort, rode forward. "You speak well for your kind. But you seem as stone-stupid as the rest, if you think you can resist us." That sent some laughter among the assembled force.

"Wrong. I know I can resist you, and more. Last chance. Leave, or die." With that, Valerie stepped forward, leapt from the battlement and landed before the gate.

Their leader drew his sword, raised it high. "LANCERS!" he called, then pointed it at Valerie, "Ride this fool of a troll into the dirt!"

"LANCERS!" came the echoing cry from the other commanders, as their cavalry all took up shields and lances at the ready. Urgings from the riders had their mounts stamping at the ground, ready to ride at a moment's notice. Then came the cry, "FORWARD!" and they turned to ride one by one around to the side, coming about and spurring their mounts to a gallop, charging forward and lowering their lances, one by one trying to impale her.

While many blows struck her, none managed a clean hit to do more than just poke at her ineffectually. She started laughing about halfway through their attacks. When they all came about for another run at her, she went into action. Holding her rage back, she launched spears at the one who looked best-equipped of the lot. While her first toss went wild, the subsequent two struck, throwing him from his saddle, dead.

That gave them momentary pause, but one of them rallied the others by crying, "For the captain and for Amn! CHARGE!" They all came in, again landing not a single telling blow, and she turned to hurl spears at the one who had led them in, slaying him, then a third at one of the remaining force, killing him as well. It might as well have been target practice in the garrison yard.

About that time, the commander who had ordered the cavalry forward called, "ARCHERS! Rain death upon this beast!" Others echoed the cry, and from behind the ranks of the infantry, the creak of dozens of bowstrings was heard before the sky filled with arrows, all diving down at her. Pelted all over, she took no injury from their volley, and swept the arrows aside, calling "Is this the best you have?"

The cavalry rode by once more, to no effect, while her spears struck three more from their saddles. The force commander cried, "SOLDIERS! Draw bows and fire!" All around, the infantry withdrew their crossbows and loaded them, as another volley of arrows came in. Valerie weathered it while the cavalry rode in again, still unable to harm her, while she put three more onto the ground. Arrows and bolts both filled the air now, raining against her like a swarm of metal-stingered bees.

But not a one had drawn blood, despite being hit well over a hundred times. Again she laughed. "You'll never get past me!" she taunted them. Another fruitless charge from the cavalry left three more of them dead from her next wave of spear throws, while a further rain of arrows and bolts did nothing but irritate her adamantine-infused skin. Back came the cavalry for another series of failures to harm her, while she dropped three more. Only half their number remained, the mounts of the fallen milling around aimlessly. She had no plans to harm them; horses were worth good money, after all.

More projectiles, and still no injury, much like the lances still poking at her armored hide. A bit of bad luck saw only one cavalry soldier drop, but it was no matter. They would all die or flee eventually. Another wave of attacks, and three more riders fell. Then finally, the sting of pain, novel in a way, as an arrow managed to get through and wound her. She plucked it out, tossed it aside. "At last you draw blood! No matter, it'll be gone in moments!" she called to them.

The cavalry came in again, and once more did nothing but lose three of their remaining number. Now only three were left. Successive waves of ranged fire and lance thrusts failed to harm her. The arrow wound healed fully as she downed the last remaining lancers. Again the sting of pain came as a crossbow bolt sunk into her flesh, but the wound was laughably small. It vanished as soon as she brought her hands up to start throwing spears at the other mounted soldiers. Surely they were leaders of some kind. Perhaps eliminating them would rout the remainder.

She took aim at the one who'd commanded the others into action to begin with. He was tough; he actually took two spears and remained mounted, though the third plunged him into the snow. At the sight of that, several voices cried in alarm.

"The Major's fallen!"

"We cannot win! Retreat!"

"Retreat!"

"NO RETREAT! FIGHT, BY THE GODS, FOR AMN!"

Though disturbed by the death of their commander, the remaining forces kept up their fire, braced by the words of the mounted archer who'd called for them to fight, and the orders from the other officers and leaders down the chain of command. Valerie was reminded of a grim little joke.

_Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with so you know who's in command!_

 Their latest barrage accomplishing nothing, Valerie took aim at the officer who'd shouted for them to fight. Two spears silenced him for good, while a third struck another mounted leader, sending him reeling but not toppling him yet. More arrows bounced as she killed her wounded target, and missed a throw to only wound a second mounted leader. As projectiles kept turning aside on her flesh, she downed the wounded mounted leader and took another from his saddle. Only two of their force were still left mounted.

Another volley washed over her as she took one of the riders down and injured the other. His fellow was dropped in short order after, leaving only those on foot to try and keep the ranks together, keep them firing, despite the thousands of arrows already fired having done nothing to her. The spent shafts piled around her like a mound of kindling; they'd probably be better off trying to set all the broken arrows on fire than to keep shooting. She advanced slowly forward, throwing her arms wide.

"FLEE!" she roared at them. "FLEE NOW, OR BE RIPPED TO SHREDS!" she waved her claws menacingly for effect. She could see fear in the eyes of many of the soldiers still in ranks before her. But they held their ranks as one of the soldiers dropped his crossbow and drew his sword. "Forward, men! Let the beast taste our steel! FOR AMN!"

"FOR AMN!" echoed others, as the foot soldiers made ready to charge. Behind them, the archers kept up their fire. As their arrows fell upon her with no more effect than raindrops, Valerie snarled and rushed forward at one of the ranks of soldiers, swiping out at them with her claws. With one great sweeping blow, six of them fell dead in a spray of blood.

"Surround it!" commanded one of the soldiers. As they advanced into range, she dropped six more, before eleven soldiers closed to strike, their swords bouncing from her like so many rubber toys. While the arrows fell, she lashed out in a whirling blow that slew all those around her, stepping right up on top of the next rank of soldiers before her.

"FALL BACK! ARCHERS FALL BACK!" came the order, as the second file of soldiers moved to flank at her side. The bowmen retreated to the side, joining their fellows turning in around behind the advancing line of infantry. Showing more caution, they surrounded her again, those closest attacking to no avail. Her answering blow cut their line to shreds, leaving only the advancing flank before her with the archers assembling behind, preparing to fire.

Their volley fell ineffectually again, while the front line charged her once more, surrounding anew. Their blows ignored, she scythed through them once more, advancing onto their line. "YOU CANNOT STOP ME!" she roared, slinging blood from her hands. Dozens of men had died in less than half a minute of melee, and she hadn't been scratched.

Faced with that, the company could take no more. "RETREAT!" came the cry. Echoed by others, their ranks broke and the soldiers began to flee.

"RUN!" she called, chasing after them, not trying to hurt them, just drive them off. "RUN HOME AND TELL THEM DEATH IS ALL THAT WAITS FOR YOU HERE!"

The soldiers could only move so fast, weighted by their armor. Valerie kept up easily, mock-slashing at them. Then ahead came an unexpected cry. "We're trapped!"

"Gods save us!"

Other cries of alarm and desperation echoed, leaving Valerie puzzled, until she came around the bend to spy a stone wall there, barring the way. As if the cliffs themselves had simply closed in to keep them from fleeing. It towered some twenty feet in the air above them, impassable to the retreating force.

Faced with that, some among the remaining company called, "Bows and steel! We fight and die like men, not berrygobblers!" They came forward then, swarming at Valerie. A grim resignation filled her as their blades and arrows struck at her. She had little choice but to finish the job. The front line of the soldiers advanced into her waiting claws, to their deaths. Arrows still raining down, the last of the foot soldiers charged her, to their bloody end. She came in on the ranks of archers now, the foremost of whom dropped their bows and drew swords, ready to defend their comrades.

They came in while the others continued firing, and Valerie swept through them like they were nothing but grass, stepping in. Bravely the next rank drew steel to try and fight. They died just as quickly as their brethren. The second-to-last rank raised blades against her, only to join the other fallen. Now perhaps a dozen men remained. Backs against the stone wall, they fired what was likely their final volley at her. Even in the face of certain death, they had their chins up.

Valerie raised her hand to her brow and saluted them out of respect for their valor, nodding with approval. It was the least she could do, before she swept her claws at them, tearing through their rank. Half of them fell, bows in hand. The other half drew swords and came in for a final assault before they, too, were slain.

The silence in the wake of the slaughter echoed off the blood-stained wall that had somehow been erected behind them. She could only assume it was the Blackwill's doing. No retreat, no surrender. Just blood and death. Her heart sank as she took the time to really look at them all. They were people. Humans, like those she had known all her life prior to being thrown across reality into this place. And she was the monster who'd just murdered them all. She turned away, stalking back up the mountain pass. She felt filthy and unsettled; all she wanted to do was go home and bathe, try and forget today.

But when she reached the valley of the tower again, a low, chuckling laugh from behind - above? - drew her to turn and spy a figure, floating there above her in the air. Black and purple tabard bearing Cyric's emblem over a suit of plate mail. Valerie sneered. "What do you want?"

"To congratulate you. I knew they wouldn't stop you, but they couldn't even slow you. Marvelous! No wonder the Blackwill commanded you into his defense." came the voice, a woman's.

"Keep it. I just want my pay." replied Valerie as she turned to head past the dead for the gate and tower.

"Ah, but you're not done yet! One more foe awaits. Or should I say, two more?"

Valerie stopped and turned slowly. "If you think you're getting out of paying me..."

The figure held in her gloves a metal flask of some kind. "Oh, you foolish brute. I'm not with them..." She removed the stopper, upended it. From within, a thick, greasy black smoke boiled forth down towards the ground. Rising in a thick column, a shape coalesced inside it, one Valerie had encountered before. The towering, hulking form of a bison-headed demon, like she'd faced in Hades. A Goristro.

The brute raised its head, and the woman pointed at Valerie. "Destroy him." A quick gesture from her made her form seem to flicker for a moment before she pointed again. Around Valerie, the world seemed to explode in a riot of colors. Terrible pain burned through her as she was knocked stupid, unable to act.

The Goristro let forth an ear-shaking bellow as it rushed at her, huge fists slamming into her in a flurry, each blow like a sack of anvils. Reeling back, Valerie struggled to regain her senses, to no avail. Above, the Cyricist laughed with delight, and called out, "See, Haarken? See what your alliance has wrought? One foolish troll, easily squashed by my minions! You may have deflected the Baatezu, but against this Tanar'ri brute, none can prevail!"

Truer words were not spoken, as the follow-up attacks from the Goristro sent Valerie tumbling to the ground, blacking out.

When she snapped awake again, Valerie did her best to lay as still as possible. Carefully turning her head, she could see, away and above the inner yard around the tower, the Cyricist floating there in the air. She heard breaking, crumbling noises, like rocks tumbling upon one another, from somewhere in that direction as well. She assumed the demon had something to do with them.

As she began to recover, Valerie quietly activated her Shielding Bracers, withdrew her heal potion and one of her flying potions, drinking them both. The surge of vitality was welcome. Digging inside, she let loose her fury and rolled, sitting up, hurling a spear at the floating priestess...and missed. "Shit!" she snarled.

Alerted to her presence, the Cyricist called out something in a language Valerie didn't understand, then pointed in her direction. A column of flame roared down atop her. Valerie did her best to roll aside, but still felt it scorch at her. Getting to her feet, she hurled another spear at her foe. What?? It seemed to pass through her! Valerie thought then of that freakish tentacled cat-monster she'd fought in the Beastlands, the one Vaprak had sent.

It too had been able to somehow deceive her where it truly stood. Apparently the priestess was similarly protected. From beyond the wall, she heard lumbering steps. Again the priestess thrust her hand Valerie's way, and a shrieking sound filled the air as a wave of something flew out to strike against her. A sound attack spell? Hearing what was likely the Goristro, Valerie rose into the air with her potion-granted flight and hurled another spear. Again it missed! She snarled with frustration. She could see, just beyond the wall now, the demon approaching its side. Seeing her floating in the air, it turned to move back to the pile of rubble strewn about where the side of the tower had been breached, snatching a chunk of stone in hand.

"Flying, hmm? We'll see about that!" cried the Cyricist, as she worked a new spell. Suddenly, Valerie dropped to the ground, unhurt but growing quite annoyed by this priestess and her magic. Her shield effect torn down as well, she snarled and unleashed her anger by hurling spears once more. Sooner or later she had to hit! Two of her throws struck home, and she roared when she saw the priestess reel from the impact.

Beyond, the great hulking demon approached once more, and hurled the chunk of rubble her way. Thanks to her rage-hardened skin, however, the missile failed to cause her any harm. Keeping her focus on the priestess, she again attacked, striking three more times, keeping her off-balance. Ahead, the great bison-headed brute climbed over the wall, leering in anticipation of being able to squash her again.

But Valerie wasn't going to make it so easy. She snagged her second flying potion from her belt, silently thanking Aurum for the advice, and downed it, surging up into the air. Giving a bellow of annoyance at her action, the demon cast about for something to throw, settling upon the corpse of one of the Amnian cavalrymen. No longer out of it from her attacks, the priestess came to her senses. Seeing Valerie airborne, she worked quickly, first to heal herself of damage she'd taken, then to try and dispel her magic once again.

But nothing happened. "What? Impossible!" cried the priestess.

"Not when the will of Cyric denies you, blasphemer!" cried a familiar voice from within the tower. The Blackwill! "Smite this heretic in the Black Sun's name!"

"Gladly!" answered Valerie, attacking once again. Two spears struck home, but the priestess didn't seem staggered by their impact. Below, the demon threw the corpse of the dead soldier at her, striking her. It tumbled to the ground again, broken and battered, while the brute moved to recover another. The priestess sent another shrieking sound spell at her, shaking her, but not keeping her from throwing more spears, knocking the priestess stupid again.

With a fresh corpse in hand, the Goristro sent it flying at her, only to have it deflect from her armored hide. Another toss at the priestess missed, but a snarl of triumph came when at last her spear struck home, impaling the Cyricist through the chest, leaving her to float there, dead. Turning to the demon, she made a throw against it, striking hard into its side. It lumbered over after another corpse, snatching it up.

She kept up her assault, wounding it further, as the demon kept gathering corpses and hurling them at her. She finally made it reel under her throws, her fury starting to wind down as she regenerated from the damage she'd suffered, still weakened. But with any luck, she'd down the Goristro before it could do the same. Spears and corpses flew back and forth, Valerie wondering if this beast would ever die. It was growing weaker, and it was missing more and more.

Just as her fury was nearly spent, she managed one last throw right into the brute's eye, sending it toppling over with a choked bellow. Slumped against the ground, unmoving, its corpse began to decay rapidly into a disgusting ooze across the snow. Valerie floated to the ground, panting with exertion. It had been a long, painful battle, but she had prevailed. Within the tower, cheers broke out, praises to their god and for her as well.

The Blackwill and several of his followers exited shortly after to survey the carnage, nodding with approval. "You have done well this day. A shame we couldn't avoid damage to the tower, but...I think that can be excused in light of the opportunity our foe has given us."

"What are you talking about?" asked Valerie, surveying the valley floor, where horses still milled about on the far sides, well away from the disintegrating demon remains.

"Why, the dead of course! They'll make excellent servants and a defensive buffer for any who dare attack us again!"

Valerie supposed she shouldn't be surprised. "Fine. But I claim salvage on all their equipment. As per the contract."

The Blackwill scowled, "We want their arms and armor for our own purposes!"

"Then you'll pay me for them. Or we can take it up with the Brotherhood about you breaking the terms of service."

He sneered at her, "You are a singularly frustrating beast!"

"As long as I'm paid well, I don't give a flying fuck what you call me." she said back, feeling tired of these religious freaks and their nonsense. "When this is done, don't bother calling on me again. All the gold in the world won't be enough to pay me."

"Fine! Then let us conclude our business! Were it not Cyric's will otherwise I would see you answer for your tongue, troll!"

Valerie just waved her hand dismissively at him and flew up to strip the dead priestess of her gear. She was bound to have something of value. Once it was all collected and stowed into her pack, she said "Send someone back and have the garrison bring in some appraisers to sort out the rest. I'll wait here and make sure everything stays where it's at."

The Blackwill looked like he was about to balk, but said tersely, "Very well."

It took only a few hours for members of the quartermasters to arrive and start going through the dead, collecting and cataloguing the equipment. When it was discovered there were magical goods upon some of the Amnians, those were stripped as well. All the mundane equipment was left behind for them to use with their proposed undead forces. Once they were done, Valerie left with them to return home. A day of battle and strife could only be answered by a hot bath, a hot meal and some time basking in the innocent joy of her son, before finding her well-deserved rest.


End file.
